Chris⋅tian
–noun
| 7. | a person who believes in Jesus Christ; adherent of Christianity. |
| 8. | a person who exemplifies in his or her life the teachings of Christ: He died like a true Christian. |
he⋅don⋅ist
- noun
| 1. | a person whose life is devoted to the pursuit of pleasure and self-gratification. |
These two themes seem to be incompatible. But as John Piper points out in Desiring God, it is "The Chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever."
My thoughts on this: (just the first chapter!)
1. It's hard to wrap my mind around. I tend to think of the pursuit of pleasure as adherently evil. As Piper points out, "I had a vague, pervasive notion that if I did something good because it would make me happy, I would ruin it's goodness."
2. If we come to the conclusion that the pursuit of pleasure is intertwined within our human nature, then we can understand why it would make sense that the God who created us with this desire would also offer the remedy to the abyss within us; Himself.
3. We praise what we love, and we enjoy pleasing those whom we love. It is comparable to marriage in that, when I seek the pleasure of my spouse, I myself am delighted in their pleasure.
