Do I Enjoy God?

I will often joke with my congregation that every good ARP/Presbyterian knows Westminster Shorter Catechism #1, “What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever.” Maybe being able to recite this Q & A should be part of membership to an ARP church (another joke)! But, like every joke, there is a grain of truth to this. Knowing this answer opens up the door to a lot of things about God and the faith. 

It is no mistake that the Westminster Divines started both Catechisms with this question and answer about our created meaning. The rest of the Catechism (both Larger & Shorter) unpack the answer to this question. What does it mean to glorify God? What does it mean to enjoy God? How am I created and redeemed to live?

May I be so bold as to suggest that many Reformed Christians I know, including myself, are good at majoring on the first part of this answer, and maybe not so much on the second part? We Reformed Christians are actually quite good at majoring on the glory of God and glorifying of God in different aspects. We can think of so many conferences and seminars and lectures that focuses on the glory and glorifying of God. Many of our Reformed heroes have written at some length about the glory and glorifying of God. They have preached sermons and given lectures on that topic. We are quite good in our Reformed world about majoring on the glory of God and glorifying of God. It's part of our wheelhouse. 

However - and what I am getting ready to say may say more about me than anything else - I don’t see Reformed Christians majoring as much on the enjoying of God. Glory - yes! Enjoyment - ehhh, not so much. It's hard for me to remember a conference where enjoying God has been the major theme. I find that interesting, because the Westminster Divines are careful to teach that we have been created to enjoy God. When God created male and female in His Triune image, He did so, in part, for them to enjoy Him. That created meaning still continues. Yes, it has been marred and tainted by sin, so, then, part of our redemption is being redeemed to enjoy God. It helps to answer that age old question, “why am I here? What is my purpose?” It’s to enjoy God! 

John Piper famously said “Man’s chief end is to glorify God BY enjoying Him.” That’s something worth thinking about, and not just because John Piper said it! (He once rode in my in-laws pontoon boat and borrowed their canoe for a weekend, but that’s a story for another time) What does it mean to enjoy God? How do I enjoy God? What does it look like to enjoy God?

The answer doesn’t begin with us. It begins with God. It begins with God enjoying us. One of my favorite parts of the creation story is the detail of God walking with Adam & Eve in the cool of the day. To me, that doesn’t sound like an end of the day work report - “what all did you get done today? Did you plow the field in the east end? Did you move the herd to the north field?” I think it was the opposite of that. I believe this detail of God walking with Adam and Eve speaks to God enjoying His creation, especially Adam & Eve. So, in the evening, after their dinner was done and the dishes were washed, dried and put away, God would come and enjoy an evening stroll with His friends. They would catch up on the day and enjoy each other’s company. They would enjoy being in each other’s presence. It was a relationship that God enjoyed and cultivated. What a great shame that sin broke that relationship! 

Yet, we find that God continued to enjoy His people. We are told in Zephaniah 3:17, “¹⁷ The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” Think a moment about this. God rejoices over His people - you - with gladness. He quiets you by His love. He exults over you with loud singing. That doesn’t sound like a deity who is obligated to love you so must go through the motions. It sounds like God enjoys His people. He enjoys me. He enjoys you. He gladly rejoices over you with perfect gladness. In great jubilation, God loudly sings about you because He enjoys you! As Buddy the Elf says in “Elf”,"The best way to spread Christmas is cheer singing loud for all to hear.” God doesn’t care who hears Him singing about you - His joyful song fills every nook and cranny … because He enjoys you. 

We can think of Jesus and His twelve apostles. Being together in such close proximity for 3 years would’ve been tough if Jesus didn’t enjoy being with them. Obviously He did enjoy because we see the reaction of Peter and John on the resurrection morning, running to the tomb. We see it in the apostles willing to die for their Jesus. We see it in their sharing the Gospel with anyone who would listen. Why would they react this way if they thought Jesus didn’t enjoy them? What kind of Lord and Savior wouldn’t enjoy His people? 

In Jesus’ interactions with the apostles, we see that humility and gentleness that speaks of His enjoying them - teaching them, guiding them, living with them, appearing to them after the resurrection. Wouldn’t you have loved to sit around the campfire at night with Jesus and the twelve and see their interaction - and especially to see how much Jesus enjoyed His friends? The laughter, the conversations, the quiet moments filled with love and enjoyment … 

Another aspect to think about is the Holy Spirit and His ministry to us. Comforter, Teacher, Guide … I would say inherent in each of those callings is an enjoyment of His people. How can you effectively comfort/teach/guide someone if you didn’t enjoy them? 

Our enjoyment of God can only begin with knowing how much God enjoys us. It can only flourish when we soak in God’s enjoyment of us. It can only grow as we grow in knowing how God enjoys us. The more we spend time in God’s word … in prayer … in the faithful taking of the sacraments … in the fellowship of worship … the more we will grow in the enjoyment of God. The more time we spend with God - intentional time - the more we will grow to enjoy Him. And, the more we will grow to enjoy the blessings He has given us. 

I think Tolkien was on to something when he said “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” If we enjoyed God as we ought, then we would better enjoy His blessings of food, drink, music, art, books, fellowship, pipe smoking, etc. 

God enjoys you, His precious child. He shows His enjoyment in so many ways, beginning with Jesus Christ. May we, as His precious child, learn to enjoy our God as we exult in how much He enjoys us. For that is what, in part, you were created and redeemed for. 

SDG