This is the journal entry by fictional character "Father Timothy A. Kavanagh" that I promised yesterday. The book is written by Jan Karon:

"The older theology tended to produce character. By the end of the twentieth century, we have become God's demanding little brats. In church, we must be entertained. Our emotions must be charged. We must be offered amusing programs. We give up a lot to become Christians and what little teaching we do get must cater to our pragmatic, self-centered interests. Preaching must be filled with clever anecdotes and colorful illustrations with nothing more than passing references to doctorine.

I want to know what this means for me in my daily experience. Have we fogotten that God is a monarch? He is the king, by whom and for whom all things were made and by whose sovereign power they are sustained. We exist for His pleasure, not His for ours. We are on this earth to entertain Him, please Him, adore Him, bring Him satisfaction, excitement and joy.

Any gospel that seeks to answer the question, "What's in this for me?" has it all backwards.

The question is, "What's in it for God?"

---Mike Horton