Chapter 14 – Is God Happy or Just Blessed?

 

1 Timothy 1:11  speaks of “the gospel of the glory of the blessed God…” The word “blessed” is “makarois,” and can be translated as “happy.” Charles Spurgeon said of 1 Timothy 1:11, “A more correct translation would be, ‘the happy God.’

 Why does it matter? Imagine you have won an all expense paid trip to Hawaii. You will stay at the Ritz Carleton, be driven in a limo, and eat at the finest restaurants. Now think about the grumpiest, most negative person you know. To going on this vacation, you must travel and room with Grumpy Pants. Do you still want to go? I don’t. I’d rather stay home. I’d rather travel by myself to Peoria in the winter. I don't care how wonderful the beach is if the company isn't pleasent.

 Now let’s apply this to God and eternity. Alcorn says, “If God isn’t happy, living with him forever can’t appeal to us. God’s happiness has great implications for whether the gospel will be seen as truly good news. If we offer people a choice between God and happiness, they’ll choose happiness. But it’s a false dichotomy. Instead, we should demonstrate that happiness can be found only in an eternally happy God who willingly sacrificed himself to purchase our eternal happiness.”

Q – Does your view of eternity include a happy God?

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