The Shorter Catechism asks questions about God and Man and our relationship to Him. We’ve been asking some of these questions with Ellie Jane (our 20 month old daughter) lately.

It goes something like this:

Colby or I: “Ellie Jane, who made you?”

Ellie Jane: “Dod” (God)

C or I: “What else did God make?”

E: “Alll tings!!” (All things, very enthusiastically)

C or I: “And why did God make all things?”

E: “Dory!!” (For His Glory, again very enthusiastically)

It’s really cute and she gets so excited about knowing the answers. She’s also picking up those words in conversations she hears.

Two weeks ago, Pastor John preached on God’s glory and God’s love for us.

His main point (not surprisingly, if you have ever heard him talk about anything) is that the bottom, foundation point of our joy is God, not ourselves. He asked the question:

“Do you feel more loved by God because God makes much of you, or because God, at great cost to his Son, frees you to enjoy making much of him forever?”

He said that the “Nominal, hell-bound Christian” (meaning a Christian in name only, but still unregenerate) has never experienced that alteration of the foundation of happiness. I’ll just quote because I can’t say it better than him:

”The new birth is not having all the same desires that you had as an unregenerate person, and just getting them from a new source. The new birth changes the bottom, the root, the foundation of what makes us happy. Self at the bottom is replaced by Jesus. God, himself… What makes the born-again person glad is not at bottom that they have God’s gifts, but that they have God.”

So in finding our deepest joy and satisfaction in God Himself, and not just His gifts, we bring God the most glory.

I’ve been in a Bible study on the book of Hebrews this semester. We studied the word “Glory” recently. It means “to give a correct estimate of.” Meaning that giving God glory means giving a right picture of what He is worth. So when I find my purpose, satisfaction, joy in God, I am showing with my life that God is all-satisfying, purpose giving, and life giving.

I realized yesterday how often I ask God for all kinds of things without much concern for His Glory. I don’t want to do that.

I want to want God, not gifts. I want God to get Glory because I know that is what makes me happy. I know God wants happiness for me because that gives Him glory because true happiness is found in Him.

A funny (and sweet) thing about Ellie Jane is she loves to pray. We jokingly say that she is “super-spiritual” –  I wish I could video her in church. She sits with us through the first part of the service. When we sing, the whole time Ellie Jane raises her hands and sways back and forth and sings to the music. Hilarious and so sweet! And whenever someone from up front starts talking, she thinks they are praying so she says “Pway!” and bows her little head and holds her hands together and doesn’t move the whole time they’re talking. We didn’t teach her any of this.

SO, anyway. Ellie Jane reminds us throughout the day to “Pway!” Whenever she gets in trouble, before she eats any food, and then at other random times too. I’ve been trying to really take advantage of this and seriously pray whenever she wants to instead of just saying”Dear God, thank you for _____. Amen.”

So, last night before bed, we were praying. There is a list of things we’ve been praying for – asking God to do these things for us. I get done praying and have hardly gotten out “Amen” when Ellie Jane looks up at me and says in her sweet little voice… “All tings! Dory!”

That’s right sweet girl. God does all things for His glory. I forget that so easily. All these things we are praying for – I’m wanting the gifts more than God. It takes my 20 month old to remind me that I will get the most joy from God doing all things for His glory because His glory always works for my good.