“When people think of a god that glorifies himself, they erroneously, although understandably, reach the verdict that he is an egomaniac.
“John Piper talks about famous people, such as Oprah Winfrey and Brad Pitt, who have walked away from historic Christianity because they found the idea of God’s self-exaltation to be unloving and/or egocentric. (To watch the video, click here.)
“I am recently reminded of the fantastical account of a ruthless, megalomaniacal deity named Ego, biological father of Peter Quill (‘Star-Lord’) in the Marvel comic books Guardians of the Galaxy, and in the recent cinematic production of Marvel Studios Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017). In the story, Ego temporarily manipulates his son, who’s inherited his divine DNA, to help him activate an omnicidal plan called the Expansion, in which Ego would terraform all life in the universe as extensions of himself by implanting his celestial genes into alien seedlings.
“Skeptics falsely attribute this type of egotism to the God of Judeo-Christianity. But what they fail to remember is that the true God created humanity in his image to glorify him by enjoying him. We are in fact blessed when we bless God. And God delights in us delighting in him. This relationship, which is pregnant with theological and anthropological happiness, eludes those who create god in their own image.”
To continue reading about the chief end of God, please purchase my book Biblical Ethics and read pages 199-201. Amazon Prime has a special on the softcover for only $25. And for those of you who enjoy your Kindle, it’s on sale for only $3.