Why are we here? What is our purpose? What is God’s will for my life? Aren’t these so often the questions that each of us wrestle with? In the Westminster Shorter Catechism, it says that the chief purpose of man is “to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” Many Bible studies that I have been a part of spend time discussing how we glorify God, but I can’t remember really chatting with someone about how to enjoy him. So, Tim Chester’s book “Enjoying God” captured my attention simply because I would love to deepen my enjoyment of God- who wouldn’t?
In the opening chapter, Chester deals with how we experience God. He asks a probing and challenging question- “With which member of the Trinity – God the Father, God the Son or God the Spirit- do you have the sense of a lived, experienced relationship?” (p.14). Chester then brilliantly unpacks the three persons of God and encourages his readers to understand that the Christian life is about a real relationship with God- the complete Trinity. He explains that our actions don’t make us more of a Christian, for we are saved by grace. Our actions do however, impact our communal experience of God, our relationship with him. Chester writes:
“That is why, even if you’re a Christian, your relationship with God can feel weak when you neglect that relationship. And yet at the same time, this is why you can always affirm that your union with God is based on the rock-solid ground of Christ’s finished work.” (pp. 21-22).
This becomes the base for “Enjoying God”- looking at how we can grow in our understanding of who God is and grow our relationship with and enjoyment of him.
Read more at Equip Women Bookclub.
