Our Pursuit: Joy Overflowing in Love

Friday, we saw that God made us for his glory, and God made us for real joy in him, and that these two pursuits are actually one pursuit — because God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

This morning, we tracked the pursuit of divine glory and human joy in the life of the God-man. Jesus’s lifework and lead prayer were for his Father’s glory, and as he drew near to the cross, and the completion of his life’s work, he acknowledged and prayed for his glory as one with his Father’s glory. And we went to Hebrews 12, along with John 12 and 17, and pondered Jesus’s joy. What was the “joy set before him” through which he endured the cross? We saw several aspects to that joy: his Father’s glory, the defeat of Satan, Jesus’s own exaltation and nearness to his Father, and finally (which leads to this session) his love for his people.

When Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. (John 13:1)

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. (John 13:34)

Now, in this third and final session, this gets personal about our joy and our love. Is it loving to pursue your joy? Someone might ask, “Doesn’t love mean to pursue not your own joy but your beloved’s joy?” Will the loved ones in our lives truly be loved (and feel loved) if we seek real joy in God to his glory? In fact, what about for God himself? Is it loving for God to pursue his glory? And is it loving for us to pursue our joy in him, to his glory?

Where Do You Turn?

Let me start by asking this: Where do you turn in moments of decision? To what, or to whom, do you look for help when you need to choose between two paths? The question is very relevant to Christian love.

We live most of our lives spontaneously, without pausing to ponder one option or another. But we sometimes come to moments of decision. It might seem as small as a request to help a church member, or a text informing you of a friend in need. You’re presented, in a moment, with an opportunity to show love. You pause, even briefly, to ponder, Will I give of my time and energy to help, or do I have a good excuse to kindly decline?

In such moments, where do you look for clarity? Specifically, as Christians, what might we put before our minds and hearts to guide us in these times of decision?

Remember These Words

The end of Acts 20 gives us not just a Christian way to proceed but what I would call a Christian Hedonistic approach. It shows us how the holy pursuit of real joy can be a compass to lead us into love.

If you’re reading a red-letter Bible, you might expect the Gospels to have plenty of crimson, but not the book of Acts. Acts is mostly black and white — with some exceptions for Jesus speaking to the disciples before his ascension, to Peter from heaven in a vision, and to Paul on the Damascus road. There we find some splashes of red. But Acts 20 is a strange place for color. This is Paul’s last will and testament to the pastor-elders of Ephesus. He is making for Jerusalem, anticipating he will not see them again. Paul gives them a rich and moving farewell speech (verses 18–35), which culminates, surprisingly for many readers, with red letters.

As his message draws to its close, Paul reminds them of his own hard work, which they themselves observed, and which he wants to be a model to them. Here’s Acts 20:35:

In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

“It is more blessed [more happy!] to give than to receive.” This is striking, pleasure-seeking logic. What a parting word to leave in such a poignant moment! “You will be happier if . . .”

Not only does Paul believe this truth, live by it himself, and quote it for others, but he adds that these church leaders should explicitly remember it. That is, bring it to mind, and keep bringing it to mind. Have it guide and motivate you. Turn here in key moments of decision. This is the sort of truth that deserves remembrance. So, be conscious about it, and regularly rehearse this reality, that you might live according to the supernatural way and words of Jesus, rather than as a natural person.

The natural human instinct is, I’ll be happier if I get rather than give. But Jesus teaches another calculus.

Unblushing Promises for Love

Whether this particular wording in Acts 20:35 is Jesus’s own or Paul’s insightful capture of Christ’s ethic, we don’t need to say conclusively. Whoever captured it, however, what’s most important is recognizing that this is clearly a good summary of Jesus’s teaching. This is indeed how Jesus taught. This, in summary form, is the spirit of Christ’s regular appeals.

C.S. Lewis, for one (as we saw last night), comments on Jesus’s “unblushing promises of reward” throughout the Gospels. “Give to others,” Jesus says, “and you will get from your Father in heaven.” “Give on earth,” he teaches, “and you will receive from heaven.” Give of your earthly, temporal possessions, and you will get a heavenly, eternal possession. The heart of his appeal is this: You get more in giving than in getting. Or, to expand it slightly: You get more (from God) in giving (to others) than in getting (from others).

Whether Acts 20:35 is a quote from Christ or a summary from Paul (or Luke), let’s see from the Gospel of Luke why this matches Christ’s ethic so well. Four passages, and promises, come quickly into view — all in the teaching of Jesus. In these four, we hear how a Christian Hedonist loves. (Hear these in a broader context than simply giving.)

1. God will outgive you.

Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. (Luke 6:38)

In Luke 6, Jesus has instructed his disciples on how they should treat others, and then how they will be treated by “the Most High” who is “your Father” (verses 35–36). Luke 6:37:

Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Jesus’s pattern is this: Treat others on earth well, with an explicit view toward the benefit that comes from heaven.

Christ’s ethic is plainly not the natural human ethic that says, “Treat others well, and they will treat you well in return.” He expressly denies that in verse 34: “If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.” Rather, Jesus says, “Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great” (Luke 6:35).

The “credit” or “benefit” (Greek charis) to which Jesus makes explicit appeal is not what others will do for you in return but what your heavenly Father will be and do for you. You give to others, seeking nothing in return from them, because you are looking to the reward you will receive from God.

“God’s promises of reward free us from selfishness to pursue better joys through loving others.”

So, get this straight: You are seeking return, but not from man — from God. And when God gives, he does not hold back. He doesn’t cut corners. He doesn’t ration from limited resources, but he lavishes from infinite riches. He’s a cheerful, generous giver: “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over” (Luke 6:38)!

So, first, according to Luke 6, God will outgive you. And knowing that, you’re freed to give, and this giving to others is love.

2. God gives treasure that will not fail.

Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Luke 12:32–34)

Here is the same spirit and holy-hedonistic line of reasoning: As you empty your earthly, aging, stealable wallets by giving to others in need, you “provide yourselves with [heavenly] moneybags that do not grow old,” treasure that cannot be stolen by thieves or destroyed by moths (Luke 12:33).

Again, we find two directions of giving in Jesus’s teaching: (1) his people give to others in need; (2) his Father gives to his people. You give from your limited possessions to the needy, and you get from your Father’s unlimited bounty — and remembering the second motivates the first.

Knowing that your Father has it all, and that what he has cannot be stolen or destroyed, and that he happily gives to his children, you are freed from hoarding and holding tightly to earthly possessions.

The appeal is plainly hedonistic: Give to the needy, recalling your Father who has no needs. Not only does he care for his little flock and thus free you to care for others, but in your very giving to others, you accrue provision and blessing from God. You are more blessed, Jesus says in effect, to give to others and so to receive from your Father in heaven.

And what do you call this giving to the needy? It is an act of love. Believing that your Father gives treasure that will not fail (and seeking that treasure) frees you, in love, to give to the needy.

3. God will make you happy.

When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just. (Luke 14:13–14)

This one comes closer to Acts 20:35 than any of the others. We have Christ’s call to give, the promise of repayment/reward, and the language of being “blessed” (made happy) by God. This is not the blessed of being praised (eulogētos) but the blessed of being happy (makarios). When you give to others, and they cannot repay you, God will make you happy. He will repay you in the end, and knowing that makes us happy not only then but now.

A profound insight into the heart of Jesus’s ethic comes with the mention of giving to others who cannot repay you. The natural, human, less-happy way is to give to others who will give back to you. They will repay you, tit for tat. You have your reward, and you leave untapped the infinite joy-resources of heaven and eternity.

But the supernatural, divine, more-blessed way is to give to others who cannot repay you. Because then you know your heart has been truly hedonistic — Christian Hedonistic. Your heart has looked to the majestic rewards of heaven rather than the measly reimbursements of earth. And your heavenly Father has never missed a single payment in his ledger. He will repay you. In his perfect justice, he will reward you with everything you deserve — and in his amazing grace, he will lavish you with far more than you deserve. You will be far happier to be rewarded by him than repaid by fellow humans. And through that freeing, hedonistic intention, you will be enabled to love.

You will love, knowing that your all-seeing, all-knowing, all-just, and all-gracious heavenly Father will not let any act in the name of his Son go without reward — however hidden it may be in this age. One day the books will be opened. The world will know. Christ will be honored. And our heavenly Father will shower his children with every good that’s justly owed, and then far, far more. Even the one who gives a cup of cold water in Jesus’s name “will by no means lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42). How much more the one who gives a feast to the needy!

4. God will receive you into his own house.

Finally, Luke 16:9 may be the most unnerving of all. Jesus tells a parable of an “unrighteous manager” who shrewdly uses his temporary access to wealth to secure favor for himself once his stewardship is taken away. Jesus acknowledges his unrighteousness, yet risks drawing this hedonistic lesson for his disciples:

Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

We’ve seen this logic before, even if it hasn’t been as provocative. Our possessions (and time and energy and attention) on earth are so fleeting; so soon will they fail us! Why hold on to them tightly and be ruined, when you could use what stewardship you have now to “make friends” for yourself with God Almighty, who will receive you into his eternal dwelling?

It’s an appeal to joy. Holding on now to earthly possessions will not make you deeply and enduringly happy. Do you really want to be happy? Do you want real joy? Loosen your grip. Give generously — not that you might receive in return from fellow humans, but that you might receive now and forever from your Father in heaven, and one day come as guest, and child, into his very home that is heaven.

Far Better to Love

So, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” is a marvelous summary of Jesus’s ethic. But how might it become tangible in our own moments of decision?

When faced with the opportunity to give, and the call of love, think like a hedonist — a Christian Hedonist. That’s what Jesus would have us do. That’s what Paul himself did, and what he would have us do (as he makes explicit with the word remember; Acts 20:35). Remembering your real joy will not ruin love but release love.

So, very practically, you come to a moment of decision. You hear of some need. Christian love is calling. You can think of all sorts of carnal reasons to say no. And you can come up with carnal reasons to say yes. At that moment, Jesus and Paul would have us turn our minds to the promises of God. He will outgive your giving, guaranteed. He gives treasure that will not fail. He will make you happy forever, and in measure even now. And, in the end, he will even receive you into the endless divine generosity of his own house.

What unblushing promises of reward! Grab one of them, rehearse it, and act in faith. Or just reach for that insightful Christian Hedonist summary of Acts 20:35: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Now, back to our questions at the beginning. First, about God: Is it loving for God to pursue his glory? Yes. In fact, he would be unloving if he did not pursue his glory. He is the one who is supremely valuable and satisfying. If he were to forsake himself as God, he would not love us but ruin us. If he points us to anything other than himself for real joy, he misleads or deceives or destroys. That would be hatred. Love, for God, is putting his glory, and his Son’s glory, on display for us that we might find our satisfaction in him.

Now, what about for us? Is it loving for us to pursue our joy in God? Will the loved ones in our lives truly be loved (and feel loved) if we seek real joy in God to his glory? I can’t promise they will feel loved. But unless we seek our real joy in God, we cannot love them as we ought. Without joy in God, we will not have the overflow of joy to move with love toward others’ needs. God’s promises of reward free us from selfishness to pursue better joys through loving others. And without joy in God, we will not point our loved ones to the only original source of real joy.

So, in the call of love — to do something difficult or say something hard — remember joy. Rehearse a promise of reward, believe it, and take a risk to love.