bekahcubed

Categories Memes

This one’s stolen from Carissa

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So tell me about your life.

I died and my life is hidden with Christ in God. (Col. 3:3)

Who do you have texts from?

Joshua, Steve, Facebook, Dad, Anna, Daniel, Johnna, Mom, Timothy, Grace, John

What’s the last thing you touched, other than your computer?

My phone to see who I might have texts from :-)

Who was the last person you had a conversation with on the phone?

Anna

Quote from a song that’s in your head?

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh. It’s a Chris Tomlin song =)

Have you faced any of your fears lately?

Sorta.

What did your last text say, and what does it have to do with?

“I’ll be there”–telling my brother I’ll come over to his house to watch the Nebraska game today.

How do you feel about girls smoking?

I feel like anyone smoking is irresponsible and unhealthy. At the same time, I recognize the difficulties of breaking addictions and try to receive smokers (as all others) with grace and acceptance.

Do you prefer the ocean or pool?

Gimme the ocean any day!

Are you outgoing or more shy?

I’d say I’m more outgoing–but I do require a certain bit of alone time.

Are you wearing jeans right now?

Nope. But I did wear jeans yesterday ;-)

Did you sleep in past noon today?

No way. I don’t think I’ve done that in five years.

Would you ever get a tattoo?

Probably not. I don’t really enjoy pain that much–and tattoos are permanent. Now, henna? Maybe.

Do you miss your past?

No–why miss the past when you can live in the present and look forward to the future?

Would you be able to date someone who doesn’t make you laugh?

Are you talking “go on a date with” or “date long term”? ‘Cause I’d go on a date with–after all, how do I know whether he makes me laugh unless I get to know him? Now, after getting to know him, if he doesn’t make me laugh every so often… (Then again, I don’t think there’s anyone I’ve really gotten to know who didn’t eventually make me laugh.)

Have you argued with anyone today?

No

Where is the biggest scar on your body and from what?

Not sure–I haven’t got a lot of scars, and the ones I do have are pretty little. Probably either the scar from the mole I had removed (I must have waited too long to get the stitches removed) or the one under my chin from the time I fell flat on my face in the street and took a chunk out of my chin.

When was the last time someone held your hand?

Someone held mine or I held someone’s? I held Gracie’s on Monday after she learned that her good friend’s mother died. It’s been awhile since someone held my hand.

Is there one person you look at and automatically smile?

Actually, several.

Who’s jacket did you wear last?

Mine.

Is there something you’re looking forward to?

Sure.

What are you sitting on right now?

A chair.

What are your initials?

RMM

What was the last thing you wore that was black?

My shoes. Ballet flats.

Do you have alcohol in your house?

Yes. Ridiculous amounts for the small amount I actually consume. I’ll probably have it until the day I die (unless I give it away to my brothers)

When did you go to bed last night?

1:30ish–I was stove-jobbing on a new planner (but it’s almost done!)

Do you have somewhere you hide things you don’t want anyone else to find?

No.

Is there beer in your refrigerator at the moment?

I’m not really a beer fan–and my roommate doesn’t drink. Nah.

Have you ever been in the shower when the power went out?

No. That’s an odd question.

Where do you like to go when you want to be alone?

The library or a park or my room. Wherever no one’s at :-)

Is there anyone you have been avoiding lately?

Not consciously.

Do you still keep in touch with your most recent ex?

Yes, I guess you could say that.

What are your plans for the evening?

Grading papers. Writing book reviews. Cleaning house. Reading a book. Likely something “boring” (that I find absolutely wonderful.)

What was the last movie you watched?

My family and other animals.

Did you watch that last movie in the theater?

No–I watched it at my parents’ home theatre with my sister-in-law

What was the last song you listened to?

“The Black Gate is Closed” from The Two Towers soundtrack

Who was the last person to give you any kind of advice?

My dad

What would happen if you were locked in a room with your last ex?

Um-I’m not sure. We would try to get out?

Do you remember what your last dream was about?

I thought I did, but now I can’t remember.

What do you think of the last person of the opposite sex that texted you?

Steve? He’s like a brother. He’s been my brother’s best friend for the past dozen years.

How tall are you?

5’10” or so

The person you have the strongest feelings for dies, you care?

Duh. Isn’t that kind of obvious?

Do you want anything right now?

Yes. But I am not in want of anything right now. My God has graciously provided all my needs–and many of my desires.

Do you still talk to your ex?

Didn’t you ask this already?

Is there anybody you wish you could be spending time with right now?

Yes.

Do you believe what comes around goes around?

That’s sorta a truism, isn’t it? If something is traveling a circular path (“around”), it will both come towards a point and go away from the point. As far as the “you get what you dish” idea, eh. There’s some Biblical support for that (Luke 6:38), but why use a cliche if you can help it? Find some real Scripture to use.

How’s 2010 been for you?

It’s been…challenging. Emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, professionally. You name it. It’s been tough. But God has been faithful and I trust in His sovereign plan.

Will you be in a relationship in the next couple months?

You mean dating, right? I don’t know.

Do you lose interest in people easily?

I don’t think so.

Delete a year of your life, or start over in a new town?

I’ll start over in a new town. Planning on doing so in January anyway.

Any part of you sad at all?

Yes-I’ve got a melancholy streak, and memes often seem designed to bring those out.

What is stressing you out most right now?

The uncertainty of life. Wanting what I can’t have.

Today’s date?

September 11, 2010–9 years.

Who did you text the most last night?

I didn’t text anyone last night

What color are your eyes?

Blue

Do you think if you died, that the last person you texted would even care?

Yes, he probably would.

Who was the last person you physically hit?

One of my brothers, I’m sure. (Hopefully John–after that bruise he gave me on Sunday….)

(The bruise was accidental, by the way–he’s really a great guy–just really strong–and I bruise easily–and he was just trying to startle me. But I totally looked like a battered woman.)

Who was the last person you hugged?

Gracie.

Do you wish anyone in particular was still in your life?

Sure.

Who were you with the last time you went to the mall?

No one. I sat and crocheted, practicing aloneness in the midst of a crowd.

Ever liked someone older than you?

Yep.

I bet your going to kiss someone tonight, right?

Probably not.

Categories Everyday Life

In Which Rebekah Says Much (Little of Note)

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I got home rather late last night and decided to take apart my planner. It’s started to get a bit ratty, and I’m a young professional and feel I should try for a more polished look. Problem is, I love my planner and I hate spending money. I’ve been considering making my own planner using the old shell–last night I just made it official by taking a utility knife to the planner so I can figure out how to make my own.

So far, I’ve got…

Cardboard planner

The finished product is intended to be covered in black vinyl, with lots of interior pockets, room for pens and pencils, etc. There’ll be a large flap that closes on the front with a frog closure (aren’t frogs just the funnest things?)

Now that I’m officially working and unofficially residing in two towns, I’ve decided I need to get the blogs I follow into a format that allows me to easily read them on the road (when I’m away from my desktop). So I’ve been resubscribing to all my blogs on GoogleReader.

Not that I expect to do much blog reading on the road. I’m gonna be working 20 hours out of the 43 I’ll be there. Hopefully I can get 7 hours of sleep each night, which will leave me with 9 extra hours to eat, go to Bible study, dress each morning, pack my stuff up, grade a few papers for my other job, etc. etc.

I’m also considering going back down to one post a day. Two is a lot to keep up with while working–especially with a commute. On the other hand, I want to keep up a mix of “thinking” and “fun” posts–and have a hard time doing that when I’m just writing one post a day. Grrr!!!

Why have I never noticed all the agains in Matthew 13?

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field…” (v. 44)

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls…” (v. 45)

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea…” (v. 47)

This suggests that in each of these parables, Jesus was RESTATING His original point. Which is curious since His original point was explaining the parable of the tares to His disciples.

I’m looking into this further…

In other news…

On Tuesday I asked whether anyone could guess which two Dewey Decimal categories account for over half of my nonfiction reading.

A total of 3 people guessed–and came up with a total of 4 categories amongst them: 200, 300, 700, and 800.

The answer?

300 and 600

Nobody guessed 600–but the 600s contain some of my favorite types of books (although not always ones that I blog about.) I have read 173 books from the 600s, including books about medicine, nutrition, time management, cooking, sewing (for the home), and parenting.

My second highest category was the 300s with 103 books read. These books included books on politics, marriage and family issues, money management, and books of etiquette and traditions (I read Emily Post for fun. Honest.)

Coming in third was the oft-guessed(?) 200s (religion) with 53 books. I only started reading items from this section in earnest this year–along with my goal of exercising my mind towards the things of God. Furthermore, I tend to take longer with these books since I really want to fully explore the issues the books raise. These are, however, the books I’m most likely to blog about–so it makes sense that my readers would guess them!

As for 700 and 800? They’re fourth and fifth (go figure!)

So y’all are pretty good guessers. Give yourselves a pat on the back you who participated.

And the rest of you? I really like comments. Please comment, even if it’s not much. (Although you’re certainly welcome to take a page from the spammers’ book–“This is the most fascinating treatment of this topic that I have ever heard. I have read a lot about ____, but no one has ever explained it as well as you do.”)

Categories Flashback Friday

Flashback: The Boob Tube

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Flashback Friday buttonPrompt: Tell about TV when you were growing up. Did your family have a TV? Was it color or b&w? How many TVs did your family have? Did you have one in your room? Did your family leave the TV on most of the day or turn it on for specific programs? Was the TV on or off when you ate meals as a family? Were there rules about watching TV? What were your favorite shows? Are there any particular memories you have of TV in your younger years? …

I am a child of the eighties and nineties–but in many respects, my growing up experiences were from a generation before.

My earliest TV memories are of a small black and white television with bunny ears and dials. This TV was kept in the hall closet, and every night after dinner, Dad would pull it out so we could watch the news coverage of the Gulf War. At some point, the black and white television gave out and we were given a sports-radio-yellow television set. This too was a small set that was kept in the closet. When that television broke, we didn’t replace it.

When I went over to friends’ houses, their huge television sets were the central point of the living room–and were on almost constantly. I saw most of the Disney movies at friend’s houses and caught a few episodes of the favorite sitcoms of that day, mostly “Saved by the Bell”.

Grandma Menter had a television, but when we visited her in Bellevue, the three oldest Menter boys (my cousins) generally had control of the remote. This meant sports–which I was not interested in. Instead, the three Menter girls (me, my sister, and my cousin) found something else to do. The only exception to this rule was when the Winter Olympics were on and we could watch figure skating. Oh, did I love to watch figure skating!

Grandma and Grandpa Cook had a television too. We kids watched a lot of videos when we went up to the farm–“Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” (like I mentioned last week), The Sugar Creek Gang, and Quigley’s Village. So far as actual TV watching goes? Grandpa would urge us to join him to watch “Grandma’s old boyfriend” Steve Urkel every afternoon, and of course we had to get our weekly dose of culture with Lawrence Welk.

So television was certainly a part of my life–it just wasn’t a big part of my life. Television was something that I went away to do or pulled out for a special occasion–it wasn’t a daily routine.

In my late teenage years, my dad got a TV tuner for one of our family’s computers, so we could watch television if we wanted to. Some of my siblings did–but I never developed a taste for it.

I’ve never owned a television myself–and really would rather not.

It’s not that I’m against them, per se. I just don’t really see much use for them. I don’t like how they take over the focus of a room. I don’t like how they tend to take over any unallocated time. If I *had* to own a television (and I do admit that they can be handy for watching DVDs with a group!), I’d want it shut up in a closed cabinet, only to be gotten out at designated times.

Hmmm…This sounds familiar.

Wasn’t that the way…

Yes, that’s the way we did it when I was growing up

Visit Linda for more Flashback Friday posts!

Categories Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday: Falling into Place

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I’m thankful for the many details that are starting to fall into place.

Thankful Thursday banner

Today I’m thankful…

…for my advisor’s acknowledgment of the merit of my thesis research (I’m so glad to have her on board!)

…for the approval of my former internship director regarding my immediate career plans

…for the confidence my new boss has in my ability to be an asset to the organization

…for the schedule we’ve been able to work out which will satisfy my employer (and my sister)–and allow me to keep my driving to a minimum

…for a chapter in Bible study last night that reminded again of how much I want Christ to become my supreme treasure.

“The best way to disengage an impure desire is to engage a pure one; the best way to expel the love of what is evil is to embrace the love of what is good instead. To be specific, we must replace the object of our sinful affection with an infinitely more worthy one–God himself. In this way we do not move from a full heart into a vacuum. Instead we move from a full heart to a heart bursting with fullness. And the expulsive power of our new affection weakens and even destroys the power of sin in our hearts.”

~Thomas Chalmers, quoted by Bridges and Bevington in The Bookends of the Christian Life

The same is true even when the object of our desire or affection is good. We all have many good desires–but these desires must not become our gods.

I have tried to change my desires, to adjust my dreams. I’ve begged God to change my heart, my desires, my dreams.

“Just don’t think about it.” I tell myself. “Just give up on it. Just resign yourself. Stop chasing that dream. Stop desiring that. Stop longing. Stop feeling.”

It doesn’t work. I can’t stop longing. I can’t stop desiring.

But I can cultivate a higher desire, a stronger longing, a deeper affection. I can look to Christ and deliberately stir up a longing in my soul for Him. I can whet my appetite with tastes of Him. I can run after Him until my panting soul cries out for the Living Water, the Water that is Himself.

I can cultivate a new affection for God that can then operate its expulsive power upon every lesser affection.

As details of my next career steps begin to fall into place, my soul remains conflicted. I am so thankful for this job, for its provision. There are so many wonderful aspects about it. Yet my desires… my desires are upon so many things that I cannot have. I know not what to do with the convolutions of my heart.

Yet one truth has fallen into place–I must learn to truly love God with heart and soul and strength. I must cling to Him and find in Him satisfaction for my soul.

“My soul longs, yes, even faints
For the courts of the LORD;
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”
~Psalm 84:2

Categories Homemaking, Tutorials

Tuesday Night (A Pear-Sauce Tutorial)

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Dad has a coworker who has a pear tree–and she offers Mom the pears every year.

This year, Mom had plenty of pears already, so she didn’t need anymore.

But our family never refuses free food :-) and Mom and Dad would rather the coworker (who is an older woman) NOT being trying to climb the tree. So they went and picked the tree for her. They ended up with two boxes of pears–some little and some big.

Pears in a box

Mom figured one of the kids would be pleased to take the extra pears off her hands.

And one–well actually two–of us were.

Daniel got the big ones to can as halves or slices. I took the little ones to make pear-sauce with. (Debbie was right yesterday!)

Never heard of pear-sauce? Just think applesauce only with pears.

To make pear-sauce, you first need to rinse off all your pears.

Pears in sink of water

You’ll want to cut each pear in half. Remove any worm holes or bruised spots. There’s no need to peel, or core, or even stem these.

Pears in stockpot

Stick all of your pears in a big stockpot or something similar, add some water, and heat it all up. You’ll want to heat it until the pears are all nice and soft.

Pears on stove

Now, you’ll need to get out your “squitter”–more technically known as a sauce maker or food strainer. These are not the most common of kitchen appliances, but they come in handy if you plan on doing any amount of home canning. My family makes large quantities of applesauce and tomato juice using our “squitter”. A “squitter” can also come in handy if you’ve got babies and want to make your own baby food to freeze.

Pears in squitter

Dump your hot pears into the top basket of the squitter (I used a slotted spoon to transfer the pears so I wouldn’t get a whole lot of extra liquid in the sauce.) Then turn the crank. You can see that the pulpy parts of the pear come out one spout while sauce comes out the other. Continue cranking and refilling as necessary until your sauce is done.

Pears in squitter

Now you’re ready to fill the jars. Use a canning funnel if you have one and fill your canning jars to within 1/2 inch of the top. Run a spatula or knife along the inside of the jar to remove any air bubbles. Then wipe the upper rim of the jar, place a new canning lid on top, and screw a ring on to hold it tight.

Filling jars with pear-sauce

Now, you’re ready to process your pear-sauce. You can process it in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes–or you can go the easy way out :-) and pressure process it for five minutes at five pounds pressure.

16 pints of pear sauce

Now you can eat sugar-free, preservative-free pear-sauce any time you want!

(I like to mix mine with plain yogurt and eat it for breakfast.)

Categories Faith

Who can you trust?

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Greg Boyd (author of The Myth of a Christian Nation) espouses open theism. John Stott (author of The Cross of Christ) has written in support of annihilationism (which denies an eternal hell). Ergun Caner (author of Unveiling Islam) lied about the extent of his Muslim upbringing.

It seems I can’t read anyone without uncovering a theological skeleton in their closet.

What’s an armchair theologian like myself supposed to do? Who can I trust?

Should I take Beth Moore’s tack?

“She does not show much interest in theology or tradition, distrusting the way the academy has, at times, handled the Bible.”

“Moore is primarily self-taught. She uses commentaries and concordances when writing her studies, but she relies primarily on her own intuition when interpreting and applying Scripture.”

Maybe I should just throw out the academics, throw out theology, throw out tradition, throw out the scholars. I can be my own scholar.

I don’t really like the hubris of this approach. I’m not a Greek or Hebrew scholar–and it doesn’t matter how many times I look up the Greek or Hebrew word that the scholars translated as such, I don’t have the intimate knowledge of the language that allows me to determine which of the many translations of the word is the best. What’s more, I’d be foolish to suggest that I don’t have blind-spots in my theology–underlying assumptions that may or may not be based on Scripture which inform my interpretation of Scripture. Reading a variety of scholars can help me to identify and correct those blind spots.

So maybe I just need to find the perfect teacher. I can read all of his books and become a groupie. Let’s see. I could choose John Piper–he’s a favorite among the young Reformed, and I like him quite a bit. The middle-aged Reformed folk of my acquaintance really like John MacArthur–he’d be an option. N.T. Wright is a popular fellow among my book-club friends. Or I could do the really hip Reformed thing and find myself a good Puritan pastor to go ga-ga over. And then there’s always Beth Moore :-P

The problem with this approach?

There’s no such thing as a perfect teacher (except Christ Himself). Each of these men (or women) have something useful to say, certainly–but they also have blind spots, things they overemphasize, things they underemphasize. They’re humans, they’re fallible, and so is their understanding of Scripture.

I’ve said I can’t trust myself to do theology alone. I can’t trust an individual to do my theology for me. So who can I trust?

I don’t really have an answer. Instead, I have a reminder.

Remember the Bereans.

They were said to be fair-minded because they a) “received the word with all readiness”, and b) “searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”

I urge all armchair theologians (and if you’re not one yet, you should become one!) to do the same. Gladly hear what the scholars have to say–and then search the Scriptures daily to see if what they say is so.

Some bloggers I’ve enjoyed for quite a while have recently started a new blog called Southern Baptist Girl, which encourages women to critically evaluate what they hear and read in light of Scripture. Those who want to know what critical analysis of teaching looks like might want to follow along to see how Lisa, Melissa, and Leslie do it.

Categories Books

Four Year Reading Update

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Sunday marked a special day for me–the four year anniversary of the beginning of my project to read every book in Eiseley library (except the ones I don’t read).

In that four years, I have consumed 2174 library items, 1890 of which were books, 857 of which were “full length” (not picture books or children’s easy readers).

Library Item Use in Past 4 Years

Per Year Per Month Per Week Per Day
Total items 543.5 45.3 10.5 1.5
Total books 472.5 39.4 9.1 1.3
Books (excluding children’s picture books) 214.3 17.9 4.1 .6

Notes on Each Category of Books

Items over 4 years Items in last year Notes:
Juvenile Picture Books 596 472!! Author last names beginning in “A” closed
Juvenile First Readers 49 0 3 authors closed
Juvenile Chapter Books 79 2 6 authors closed
Juvenile Fiction 238 53! 20 authors closed
Juvenile Nonfiction 68 6 Favorite category? Biographies
Adult Fiction 297 49 43 authors closed
Adult Nonfiction 503 94!! See my little challenge below
Videos/DVDs 125 33 These seem to be coming in too fast for me to watch them–I’m not much of a movie person
Cassette Tapes/Compact Discs 159 60 The more I travel, the more I listen to. I’ve been traveling a bit this year.
Periodicals 57 16 I haven’t figured out how to do these, since the collection expands so rapidly!

I don’t have much of a “system” for reading–I pretty much read what I want to when I want to. But I do have a special tab in my planner set apart for books.

First, I have the categories from the Dewey Decimal system all typed out (to the ones place, meaning I have 000-Compute science, information & general works, 001-Knowledge, 002-The book, etc. up to 999-Extraterrestrial worlds). “Closed” categories are highlighted.

Second, I have a list of closed and open authors for each category (picture books, first readers, chapter books, juvenile fiction, juvenile nonfiction, DVDs, and adult fiction). One side of the list contains closed authors written in pen. The other side houses penciled in “open” authors–that is, those authors that I have started to read but whose works I have not finished. These serve as a reminder for me to grab books from open categories (and to avoid reading new acquisitions from categories I’ve already closed–unless I really feel like it.)

Finally, I have my TBR lists. These are divided into sections of the library, and contain penciled titles plus the appropriate call number. When I’m not sure what I’m in the mood for at the library, I run about and collect titles that are on these lists.

When counting up my nonfiction reads, I discovered that over half of my reading came from two large Dewey decimal categorizations (hundred’s place). I was wondering if any of my readers could hazard a guess as to which categories are my favorites. Here are your options:

000-Information (Computer Science, Library Science, Encyclopedias, etc.)
100-Philosophy (Psychology, Logic, Ethics, etc.)
200-Religion (Bible, Theology, Comparative religions, etc.)
300-Social Sciences (Politics, Economics, Law, Education, Traditions, etc.)
400-Language (Linguistics, Grammar, Foreign Languages, etc.)
500-Mathematics/Science (Math, Astronomy, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Life Sciences, etc.)
600-Technology (Medicine, Engineering, Agriculture, Home ec. Management, Buildings, etc.)
700-Art (Landscape art, Architecture, Decorative arts, Photography, Music, Performing arts, etc.)
800-Literature (Poetry, Drama, Essays, Speeches, Letters, Satire, and Literary criticism)
900-Geography and History (Travel, History)
Biographies-Self explanatory!

So, what do you think? What two categories are my favorites?

Categories Education

My students think I’m crazy

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As many of you know, I am a teaching assistant for a couple of “Scientific Principles of Food Preparation” laboratories. For our first lab session, we discuss and experiment with sensory analysis of food–how our senses affect our perception of flavor.

I was lecturing as usual, and as usual, I was starting to get excited about the subject material.

“I was just reading a book about the senses called See What I’m Saying. It’s a fantastic book, by the way,” I told them. “And in this book, the author describes a psychological experiment in which…”

As my eyes swept over my class of 25 students, I realized that I had lost them.

They think I’m crazy.

How can I find descriptions of psychological experiments interesting? How can I enjoy the science behind cooking? How can I get so excited about food and nutrition and families and…

Few of them understand the thirst for knowledge, the relentless desire to know why and how and how to change things. They are in school because they don’t know what else to do. They have few driving passions.

They don’t understand me.

My students have generally been polite and respectful–but our interactions make clear that the majority don’t get it.

They do what it takes to get a grade from that crazy-enthusiastic, crazy-tough TA–but they don’t understand why I am the way I am.

But in every class, there are a few students who agree that I’m crazy, but make it their mission to dig a bit deeper. They listen intently, not just to get a grade, but to figure out why I find this so exciting. They start to ask questions, start to search out answers, start to find it exciting too.

This is why I love teaching.

Lecturing dead-eyed classrooms that couldn’t care less can be frustrating. Hearing half a dozen lame excuses as to why homework can’t be handed in on time can be draining. Dealing with students who can’t understand why they don’t automatically get As in my class can be exasperating.

Being considered crazy starts to get old.

But then one student looks a little deeper, discovers crazy can be good, and starts to go crazy for knowledge herself.

This is why I teach.

‘Cause the world needs more crazies.

Categories Book Notes, Theology

God’s passion for His glory (Part 2)

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At the end of last week, I posed the question:

Is God primarily passionate for Himself, or for people? Is the idea that God is passionate for His own glory contradictory with the idea that God is love?

This week, I’ll share the conclusions I’ve drawn about the subject.

First, comparing God’s purpose to man’s purpose, as Piper does when he states

“The chief end of God is to glorify God and enjoy Himself forever.”

is invalid. Man’s purpose is to glorify God, whether man consciously decides to do so or not. This is because man is a created being–and the purpose for which he was created was (at least in part) God’s glory (“Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…” Gen 1:26). God, on the other hand, is not a created being. He has no “purpose” for existing. Rather, He exists because He exists, because He is. The question then, when referring to God’s purpose, is not about God’s purpose in existing, but His purpose in acting.

Now, to a certain degree, God’s existence is explanation enough for His actions. When questioning any of God’s purposes of acting in a particular way, a perfectly appropriate answer is “He acted in this way because this way of acting is consistent with His nature.” In other words, God does what He does because “that’s just the way He is.”

God demonstrates mercy because He is merciful. He exercises justice because He is just. He displays His glory because He is glorious.

Perhaps the idea of God being passionate for His own glory is merely another way of saying “God’s purpose is to be Himself–that is, to be gloriously Himself.”

But Piper’s thesis–and I daresay Scripture itself–would suggest that God’s passion for His own glory is not merely a way of saying “When God acts in accordance with who He is, the result is God’s glory–therefore, God is passionate about His own glory.” No, it seems that Piper, and Scripture, would say that this is indeed a driving passion that influences God’s activity. It implies that just as I read out of a passion for learning, God acts out of a passion for being glorified.

Which brings us right back to the initial problem of God being self-seeking.

But what if God, though one in deity, were three in person? What if God were triune (which He is, indeed)–and each member of the Trinity were passionate not for His own glory, but for the glory of each other member of the Trinity? What if the Father’s supreme end was to glorify and delight in the Son and the Spirit? What if the Son’s supreme end was to glorify and delight in the Father and the Spirit? What if the Spirit’s supreme end was to glorify and delight in the Father and the Son?

If that were so, then God’s “self-love” would not be self-seeking. The paradox would be resolved. God could be both love and passionately God-centered.

And I think this idea has Scriptural support.

In John 8:49-50, Jesus states that He does not seek His own glory, but that He honors His Father. John 16:14 states that the Spirit glorifies the Son. In John 17, Jesus prays that the Father would glorify Him (the Son) so that He (the Son) might glorify the Father. In Hebrews 5:5, we read that Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but that God the Father “promoted” Him to that position.

God can be at once both gloriously God-centered and gloriously un-self-centered. For each member of the Trinity submits to the others’ will, and each wills the others’ glorification–with the end that God glorifies God and enjoys Himself forever.

(This is a reflection on the first chapter of John Piper’s Desiring God. For more reflections on Desiring God, see my notes here.)