God, Our Highest Happiness

Deep, lasting happiness is found in the glorious majesty and grace of God. In this brief clip, Michael Reeves explains that the enjoyment of God is the ultimate gift we receive in the gospel.

Transcript:

What the Reformers saw, especially through the message of justification by faith alone, was the revelation of an exuberant, superfluously gracious and happy God who glories in sharing His happiness, not stingy or utilitarian, a God who glories in being gracious. And to steal from His glory by claiming any credit for ourselves would actually be to steal our own joy in so marvelous a God. In fact, wrote John Calvin, "that is the secret of happiness and the secret of life." He said, "Whatever the philosophers have said of the chief good is cold and vain, for they confine man to himself. But it is necessary for us to go out of ourselves to find happiness. The chief good of man is nothing else but union with God." That goes against everything we're taught in our culture today, that happiness is not found in ourselves. It is not found in appreciating our own beauty or convincing ourselves of it. Deep, lasting, satisfying happiness is found in the all-glorious God, all of which is really just another way of saying, "What is the chief end of man?" "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." The fact is, we've been made to enjoy God. But without the great truths that the Reformers fought for, which display God as glorious and enjoyable, we will not do so, we will not enjoy Him. Seeing less of this glorious God, we will be lesser and sadder. Seeing more of Him, more of His glory, greater clarity on the glory of His ways and who He is, then we will be fuller and happier.