Let the nations be glad!

What a start to a new year – bloodshed in Gaza, adding to the grim lists of war zones around the world, starvation in Zimbabwe, and very uncertain times for all of us, with the world’s economies in chaos. I must admit that I am finding watching the news just now to be quite an ordeal – there isn’t much joy around!
Which prompts me to reflect again on a great little book by John Piper entitled ‘Let the Nations be glad’. Not many would object to that! Taking the title from Psalm 67, John Piper points out that the worship of God in all the world is the ultimate goal, and that in missions we simply aim to bring the nations into the white-hot enjoyment of God’s glory. What a wonderful way to describe the task of the church, not to browbeat or lecture, but to bring people into the enjoyment of God that we were all made for.

It follows then, that it really is important that as Christians, we live with a very real enjoyment of God, and that there is a gladness about us as people who have tasted the goodness of God and His reign in our lives. In fact, joy is a sign that the Kingdom of God (that is, the royal activity of God) has come in our lives, For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17. In fact Jesus attested to this when he stood up in the synagogue in Nazareth and read from Isaiah 61: The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me…,etc etc, because he went on in quoting that passage to say: to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Now that is something that is very attractive in days when gloom seems to lurk around every corner – and it is the inheritance of every Christian.
So the opportunity is there now, for Christians everywhere to enjoy God, and in so doing stand out from the crowd and the gloom that hovers.
Don’t allow the gloom to swamp you! Keep yourself in the love and enjoyment of God. It’s our calling and our mission!

Happy New Year!

Goff