“I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” – John 10:10
Years ago, while discussing faith with a non-believer, I heard words that didn’t leave me for a long time. My friend said “How can you believe in a God who supposedly created us so we would worship him? Don’t you think that’s selfish?” I can’t remember my response, or if I even had one.
For the longest time, those words stuck with me. I would usually brush them under the rug, think about something else, or think to myself, “Well, God is God and he can do whatever he wants.”
Years later, I discovered that there’s much more to this matter that both my friend and I did not understand.
In “Mere Christianity”, CS Lewis solved this paradigm for me when he writes:
“God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there.”
God loves our worship and praise but He does not need it. He does not lack, WE lack without Him.
And in this realization I took a deep breath. God commanding my worship is not selfishness. It is an invitation to abundant life with the one who knows and loves us.
Do we exist for God’s Glory? Yes. But in glorifying Him, we find our deepest joy. Thank you Jesus.
Much love,
Emily Ševerdija & The Freedom Centre Team