"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Psalm 16:11

In The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis writes: "It would be a bold and silly creature that came before its Creator with the boast, 'I'm no beggar. I love you disinterestedly.'" Does that strike you as true? I hope it does. When we give ourselves to God out of nothing more than a sense of duty, we are disinterestedly seeking to live by works. This is why I am a Christian Hedonist. The term isn't very old, it has been popularized and developed by John Piper and Sam Storms in recent years. But the idea isn't new at all - Indeed, since the beginning of time it has been man's pursuit of his own joy that has been the cause of bringing great glory to God, and great sin in one's life. How can both be true? This is a question best answered with a question: Where are you seeking your joy?

 Psalm 37:4 commands joy in believers: "Delight yourself in the Lord". Therefore, I believe the best answer to the catechism question, "What is the chief end of man?" is that the chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever. Why? Because, as the Psalmist wrote in 16:11, the fullness of joy is found only in God. Every man everywhere will seek his own joy, without exception. Some will seek to find it in money and possessions, others in their careers and success, yet others will attempt to find it in their relationships with others. But the Scriptures are infinitely clear that our pursuit of joy will always fall short when it is found in anything other than Christ.

What does this look like, and how do we get there? Certainly, to talk about finding our joy in Christ is one thing. To do it is quite another. First, what it looks like: " The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field" (Matthew 13:44, emphasis mine). The next question is a bit more difficult, but not impossible: How do we get there? What does it take to find my greatest joy in Christ that I am willing to forsake all others in pursuit of Him? Living by faith. Believing that God is who He says He is, that He will do what He says He will do, and that His promises are for you to cling to and trust forevermore, even when the circumstances of life seem to tell you otherwise. "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).

Here's the total package: There is fullness of joy in our lives when we have faith that assures us that we need not live in fear of God, but rather delight in all that He is and has revealed Himself to be in Christ Jesus. We stand on the promise that as adopted sons and daughters of God, we are members of His family and are no longer orphans. When God looks on us, he is 100% irrevocably pleased by what he sees - not because we are who we are, but because of who Jesus is on our behalf. The glorious reality of the gospel sets us free to delight in Him. My righteousness is not an achievement of my own - I no longer need to run the race of life on a treadmill. My righteousness is that which Christ has graciously supplied, and the Father has lovingly given that I can make much of Jesus in all of life. St. Augustine once prayed, "You made us for yourself, and our hearts find no peace till they rest in you." Let us rest in Christ together, for the fullness of our joy! Of course, on our own it's impossible. Let's also pray together what Augustine once uttered, "Give me the grace [O Lord] to do as you command, and command me to do what you will!"