The great American theologian, Jonathan Edwards (1703-58), wrote many resolutions over the course of his life, including the famous:
“Resolution 1: I will live for God. Resolution 2: If no one else does, I still will.”
He was, by no means, the only Christian to do compose such deliberate resolutions.
I recently read the recollection of an unnamed minister, as told by the esteemed Presbyterian writer, Samuel Miller (1769-1850):
“Many years ago, when I was a pastor in a neighbouring city, a beloved and eminently pious brother occupied, by invitation, my pulpit; and rich indeed were the services which he performed. His sermon was pious, instructive, and excellent; but his prayers were peculiarly appropriate, rich, and impressive; indeed in what might not improperly be called a superior style of importunate, touching devotion. I was struck with this when engaged in uniting with my excellent brother; but still more, when, on withdrawing from the sanctuary, an aged mother in Israel said to me in passing, ‘That man prays as if he lived at the throne of grace.’”[1]
It was the congregation of Robert Murray McCheyne, the Scottish minister who passed away at the young age of 29, who felt that their minister had a uniquely intimate relationship with God. It was remarked about McCheyne, that when you were with him it seemed as though you were in the presence of someone who had just been in the presence of Jesus Christ.[2]
Such examples cannot fail to bring to my recollection of the prayer of my own preaching-hero, George Whitefield, “My prayer today is that God would make me an extraordinary Christian.”
I cannot but help to experience the same! But my question today is: “Is it okay to desire/pursue such things for ourselves? Or even, is it ever wrong to do so?”
On the one hand, these are good things, and the desiring of good things for good reasons is a thoroughly biblical idea. They key question rests upon the reason why it is we desire such an experience of God and its resulting impactful Christian walk: for our own greatness, or for God’s glory?
In Luke 10:38-42, we read of the Lord Jesus’ visit to the house of Mary and Martha. Martha becomes annoyed at her sister, Mary, who is sat at the feet of Jesus listening to Him speak, while the duty of serving her guests is left to Martha alone. Jesus commends Mary for choosing the “good part”, and I suspect that we find the secret of an impactful Christian life here: spending much time sitting at the feet of Jesus, in Bible study and prayer.
But what ought to be the motivations to do so? I am only too aware of my own pride and self-love that taints what I do. It may be helpful to ask here, “If I cannot ever fully trust myself, what is it that God desires us to do?”
The first article of the Westminster Shorter Catechism deals with this question:
“What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.”
John Piper famously proposed in his cardinal work, ‘Desiring God’, that an even more preferable answer would be to say:
“Man’s chief end is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.”[3]
It is a good thing to desire such a life lived for God and lived with God that we become extraordinary Christians, influencing and impacting those around us with the holiness and love of Jesus Christ – when the purpose of these desires is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever… or, even, to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.
And so, I resolve to sit at the feet of Jesus for the best part of my life.
“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” Psalm 34:8
[1] Samuel Miller, Thoughts On Public Prayer (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2022) p.173.
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