part 3/4
“Jonathan Edwards, in reflecting on the interior life of the triune God, concluded that God is infinitely happy.” – because each person of the Trinity is others-centered.
Jesus prays in John 17:22, “and the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one.”
God created a universe full of other beings to share that glory with. He calls us to glorify, praise, and serve Him because He wants us to have that same joy that the Trinity has had for all of eternity. we were made to join in the dance !
so then He creates Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and He asks them not to eat of this one tree.
“what would be so bad about eating of this tree? No answer is forthcoming. However, if we comply with God’s directions only when it first in with our goals and interests, then we are trying to get God to orbit around us…God then, is saying to humanity something like, ‘Obey me about the tree just because you love me. Just for my sake.”
when Adam ate of the tree, he became self-centered. and that unraveled all of our other relationships: with our selves, with others, and with creation. all because our relationship with God came undone.
but God didn’t leave us there. the Son of God, Jesus, led a God-centered life on earth, and then died for us without any benefit to Himself. He already had “a community of joy, glory, and love” so when He came and died for our sins, “He was circling and serving us” — inviting us to center our lives on Him, joining the dance again.
“we can make Him the new center of our lives and stop trying to be our own Savior and Lord. we can accept both His challenge to recognize ourselves as sinners in need of His salvation, and His renewing love as the new basis of our identity.”
