God’s chief goal is not my self-esteem

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As I looked at the post I linked to yesterday and the then the responses to that person’s post, I came across a warning from one person that the video and accompanying post presents a too man-centered view and is just as fallible as the medieval church and its harrassment of people like Galileo and Copernicus. Well, since we are only able to see the universe from this perspective, how else would we be able to interpret such a remarkable thing as the universe.

In one respect, yes, we are the center of God’s creation. If you look at Genesis, man was the crowning creation of his work. He made man, called it good, and then rested. But we fool ourselves greatly and risk great danger for our lives if we think that God is all about how good we feel about ourselves. I have heard people — often children, but adults as well — say that the reason God created this world or man was because he was lonely. While it sounds innocent enough, it also implies that we supply something that God was lacking and thus works to elevate us and lower God in stature.

We were not created to have our deepest joys come from ourselves through the boosting of our self-esteem. Rather, we were created to get our deepest joy from God, who created us. John Piper explains:

We are all bent to believe that we are central in the universe. How shall we be cured of this joy-destroying disease? Perhaps by hearing afresh how radically God-centered reality is according to the Bible.

Both the Old and New Testament tell us that God’s loving us is a means to our glorifying him. “Christ became a servant … in order that the nations might glorify God for his mercy” (Romans 15:8-9). God has been merciful to us so that we would magnify him. We see it again in the words, “In love [God] destined us to adoption … to the praise of the glory of His grace” (Ephesians 1:4-6). In other words, the goal of God’s loving us is that we might praise him. One more illustration from Psalm 86:12-13: “I will glorify your name forever. For your lovingkindness toward me is great.” God’s love is the ground. His glory is the goal.

This is shocking. The love of God is not God’s making much of us, but God’s saving us from self-centeredness so that we can enjoy making much of him forever. And our love to others is not our making much of them, but helping them to find satisfaction in making much of God. True love aims at satisfying people in the glory of God. Any love that terminates on man is eventually destructive. It does not lead people to the only lasting joy, namely, God. Love must be God-centered, or it is not true love; it leaves people without their final hope of joy.

I agree totally with this. But it is a never-ending battle against the god of myself and my constant desire to boost my own ego for my own sake. And it is everywhere. How often have we heard that it is important to love yourself before you can love someone else? It is as if we didn’t have a natural-born love already hardwired into us. Love of myself doesn’t motivate me to love others, but love of God motivates me to love others and be much more happy as a result.

The universe points to the glory of God

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This post, by Jeff Gray at RootsRain, is pretty awesome.

As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him…
—Psalm 103:11

The glory of God is displayed in the universe

The glory of God is displayed in the universe

Electoral-vote.com: Useful during election season

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Electoral-vote.com is good way to get a snapshot of the U.S. map as far as latest poll numbers and what that translates into for electoral college votes. Click on the map below to see the site.

Electoral-vote.com is a useful site for getting a quick snapshot of what the latest polls are saying about the election.
Electoral-vote.com is a useful site for getting a quick snapshot of what the latest polls are saying about the election.

Barack Obama: Not looking out for the little guy

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UPDATE: So now Barack Obama is attacking Gianna Jessen for what his campaign is calling “sleazy ads” that are “anti-choice.” Jessen responds:

“Mr. Obama is clearly blinded by political ambition given his attack on me this week. All I asked of him was to do the right thing: support medical care and protection for babies who survive abortion – as I did 31 years ago. He voted against such protection and care four times even though the U.S. Senate voted 98-0 in favor of a bill identical to the one Obama opposed. In the words of his own false and misleading ad, his position is downright vile. Mr. Obama said at the recent Saddleback Forum that the question of when babies should get human rights was above his pay grade. Such vacillation and cowardice would have left me to die if his policies were in place when I was born. Thank God they were not.”

Jill Stanek also weighs in:

“It is despicable, repulsive and beneath contempt that Barack Obama would attack Gianna Jessen. She is a courageous abortion survivor and living miracle who would not be with us today if Obama’s policies had been in place when she was born. Mr. Obama continues to mislead the American peopleon this issue, he voted four times against medical care and protection for babies who survive abortions in the Illinois State Senate, while the U.S. Senate was voting 98-0 to pass an identical bill. Mr. Obama needs to come forward and tell the American people that he understands people like Gianna Jessen, and that he will support and enforce Born Alive Infant protections — that these are living, breathing human beings who have come into our world and deserve protection in the law and should receive medical care at health care facilities. These babies have the same rights as the rest of us.”

Here is Obama’s ad:

HT: Michelle Malkin

Gianna Jessen, who I highlighted on this blog in June, is doing an ad for BornAliveTruth.org, a 527 organization that will be highlighting Barack Obama’s extreme views when it comes to abortion. The National Review Online interviewed Jill Stanek recently about the ad and why the group put it together. Stanek, a former nurse at Christ Hospital in Illinois, watched children left to die after surviving botched abortions. Her testimony led to the legislation in the Illinois statehouse that Obama passionately argued against.

Read the interview with Stanek and then watch the ad with Jessen below.

The ESV Study Bible Online — an awesome tool

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The online ESV Study Bible is available for free with the purchase of an ESV Study Bible.
The online ESV Study Bible is available for free with the purchase of an ESV Study Bible.

I am very excited about the release of the upcoming ESV Study Bible. One of the promising features is that, for those who purchase it, they will receive the online study Bible for free. See the video:

Obama calls out McCain on abortion

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Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! — Isaiah 5:20

The Associated Press is reporting that Barack Obama is attacking John McCain for being too adamantly pro-life:

Obama is calling out McCain in ads that say the GOP nominee takes an “extreme position on choice” and “will make abortion illegal.” He is spreading his message through low-profile radio ads and campaign mailings, though, hoping to avoid being tagged as too liberal on a woman’s right to choose to end a pregnancy.

The article, written by the AP’s Liz Sodoti, says that each of the candidates are dancing around perceived “extreme” views in order to woo voters. But, if you listen to the candidates, I would disagree. In fact, the only “dancing” I’ve heard this election season is Obama’s “it’s above my pay grade” and Sen. Joe Biden’s “good people disagree” statements. McCain has been clear about what he believes, and we know where Gov. Sarah Palin stands. Let’s be clear here: McCain is pro-life and has voted that way. Obama is not and has voted that way. I’m not sure what a “moderate” position on abortion is just like I’m not sure what a “moderate” position on murder is. Honestly, I will give both candidates credit for not trying to occupy that ridiculous ground.

Sept. 11, 2001: A tragic milestone day on TV

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This is a shot from ABC's Good Morning America broadcast on Sept. 11, 2001.
This is a shot from ABC's "Good Morning America" broadcast from Sept. 11, 2001.

The Sept. 11 Television Archive has footage from each of the networks from Sept. 11, 2001. I remember watching the horrific events of that day unfold on ABC, so it was fascinating to watch that again and think back to what was going through my mind then.

To watch the ABC coverage, go here. The first video has the coverage from 8:31-9:12 a.m. and then you can click “next video” to watch further. (Note: The first plane struck the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m. and was reported on the broadcast at 19:50 mark of the broadcast).

The first 19 minutes are the usual morning TV fare, which I didn’t watch at the time. Rather, I picked up the telecast just after the initial report since I had been taking my then-second grade daughter to school when the first plane struck. Looking back on it now, it strikes me how some things can seem utterly trivial in comparison with the major events in our life. Sadly, I think about how much time and energy I waste worrying about such things.

The hard life of living with a Down syndrome child

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My precious niece Amelia is popular with my two children.
My precious niece Amelia is popular with my two children and all of our family.

The Washington Post did a front-page story this past Sunday on what it’s like to live with and raise a child with Down syndrome. For those who haven’t been through it, it is an eye-opening look into what is a very difficult life.

Articles like this, of course, are being written because of the attention that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has brought to families who have Down syndrome children. These children are all around us, but, as one of the parents in the story says: “Before, kids would stare, but not adults. Everybody’s curious: ‘What’s it like to have a kid with Down syndrome?’ ”

What’s it like for these families is put this way in the article:

Amelia is a blessing to all of our family and to those who meet her.
Amelia is a blessing to all of our family and to those who meet her.

They spend more time in doctors’ offices than most parents. They endure stares from strangers but feel as if they and their children are invisible. They often find themselves fighting for their kids, not just raising them. Earlier, and perhaps more dramatically, they wrestle with the complex emotions that come from knowing that a child might never fulfill the lofty dreams that a parent often envisions before the child’s birth.

But the parents of children who have Down syndrome say that raising a child with a disability can also unlock profound and uplifting truths about themselves, their children and the value of life in ways that others could never see.

In our family, we have a beautiful gift from God named Amelia. She was born with Down syndrome to my wife’s brother and his wife to join their other three children. At age 2 she is still learning to stand on her own and maybe utters a handful of words, but she is world class in drawing tenderness from anyone who encounters her. It is a hard life for her parents as she has needs that press daily on them and her family, but I don’t doubt for a second that they love her every bit as much as her older brothers and sister.

One of the parents in the Washington Post article recounts an encounter with her sister that is a cruel reminder of how many in our society think the cruelest thoughts when it comes to Down syndrome children:

“My sister looked at me and said, ‘Why didn’t you abort her?’ ” Marsili recalled. “I said, ‘What? Because we love her, and she’s my baby, and we love her!’ ‘But you knew,’ my sister said. . . . It was pretty shocking. Even people that close to me.”

It is a dangerous place we’re at when we consider killing to be a solution for children who’s abilities are diminished. If it takes someone like Sarah Palin entering the spotlight for us to expose this kind of thinking — and rebuke it — then I think it is a good thing.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

National Association for Down Syndrome

National Down Syndrome Society

HT: Wesley J. Smith

Devastation in Texas

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UPDATE: I talked with my sister-in-law and she is safe at her parents’ home five hours away. She doesn’t know the status of her home, but was able to gather some things before she left. Consider helping those who have experienced loss here.

This road that goes into Seabrook, Texas, shows the devastation left as Hurricane Ike roared into Texas.
This road that goes into Seabrook, Texas, shows the devastation left as Hurricane Ike roared into Texas.

As my brother fights for our country in Iraq, this is the scene, unfortunately, where he lives in Seabrook, Texas. The damage is what has resulted from Hurricane Ike as it came ashore in Texas overnight. Although I haven’t talked to her yet, my hope is that my sister-in-law wasn’t there when it hit. It’s hard to talk this way when you see the devastation, but we were fortunate the storm wasn’t worse or as bad as originally forecast. Again, this is another opportunity to show you care.