God: The Means and The End

For reasons beyond my understanding, my daughter Thea loves the ceiling fan in our kitchen. My daughter is aware that in order for her to get closer to the fan and be able to pull the chains, she requires some assistance. So, a common practice of Thea’s is to approach me, express that she wants to be held through a tug at my pants or by reaching up and grunting, but she has an agenda. First impressions would seem like she wants to be closer to “Dada”, but as she begins to look away from me and lean toward the fan it becomes clear that I was not what she was seeking after. In those moments I am merely the means to her desired end.  I am but a living, breathing elevator to her wanted destination.  One day as I was reflecting on this curious and reoccurring event, I was hit with the notion that it can serve as a spiritual analogy.

I think that if we are honest, we can be like my daughter in our interactions with God. We  draw close to him only when there’s something we want from him.  I know that it’s an unfortunate trend among those who identify as Christians. We tend to treat The Lord as the means to a desired end, instead of seeking God Himself.

We might only pray when asking for deliverance from trouble. Maybe we only go to Jesus for salvation from judgment. We may serve God only so that he’ll bless us in kind with health, finances, success etc. We function as God’s employees instead of as His children. We do things to collect a “paycheck”, instead of living in loving response to God's love toward us.

The crazy thing is, we end up only depriving ourselves of what we truly need when we do that. Despite how entertaining the fan may be to my daughter, these things cannot offer her the provision, protection and love that I offer her as her father. Of course anything I can offer her is only by God’s grace, but hopefully you get my point. This same concept is true of us. If we are treating God as a stepping stone to some other thing we ultimately want, we actually deprive ourselves from the true blessings God offers in Himself.

Isaiah 55:1-2

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.”

This passage and many others in scripture tell us that God Himself is the ultimate source of fulfillment. Anything other than Him can’t truly provide what our souls long for. We need to understand and trust that He’s not just the means to a different end; He is the means and the ultimate end. In Him we find our hope, peace, purpose, salvation, satisfaction, and everything else that we truly need. The more our hearts are set on God Himself, the more we will actually be satisfied.

Psalm 37:4

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”