Pleasing God

[Augustine3]

If God is complete, wholly and entirely and nothing we do could add to his glory, then what do we mean when we say we perform good acts to “please” him (St Therese of the child Jesus mentioned it a few times)?

 

[opusAquinas]

When we do acts to please God essentially it means we act like Jesus Christ - we are suppose to become little Christs. We glorify God in our actions which require God’s grace. We gain merit. An eternal reward.

 

[John_Martin]

Each morning we pray, “Grant me grace, O Merciful God, to desire ardently all that is pleasing to you, to examine it prudently, to acknowledge it truthfully, and to accomplish it perfectly, for the praise and glory of your name”.

To the praise and glory of his name, so that all the more of the earth knows him and participates in his happiness, blessedness, and know themselves suited to life of delight or joy with him.

We were created with an end of being creatures of love and virtue, and come to know our true goodness, extra-human goodness, when we find ourselves manifesting it or actualizing it in our thoughts, words, and deeds. Then we know we are like Him, suited to union with Him, and on our way to join Him.

God does not change to become “more pleased” when we do these things, not more joyful. His delight and joy are apart from time or variation. When we do what is pleasing to him, we ourselves find joy or delight in it when we understand what we have don, which is also timeless. We catch a glimpse of what God is knowing in his “big picture of creation”, knowing in his knowing - we see or know ourselves in his “vision” of creation, united to him and ourselves know what is his happiness. When we do not do good, we are not knowing ourselves as he knows us, but know only temporal things as if they were God.

 

[tonyrey]

God is perfect and immutable but that doesn’t mean being static and sterile. Perfection entails being dynamic and creative - and, above all, infinitely loving and compassionate. Jesus shared our joys and sorrows on earth to show us that God is not a remote Creator but closer to us than we could ever possibly imagine. To please Him is really to become more united to Him, fulfilling His prayer that “they may be one as we are one”. When we remember that no human word describing the divine nature is literally accurate it doesn’t matter whether St Therese used “please” to express her childlike faith in Our Lord. What matters is that she dedicated her life to serving Him and inspire us with her courage and love in spite of her suffering:

Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

Corinthians 1:20-30

 

[Augustine3]

Thanks everybody for your posts.

It just occurred to me, perhaps God could be pleased through Jesus in his human nature…what do you guys think?

 

[opusAquinas]

Thanks everybody for your posts.

It just occurred to me, perhaps God could be pleased through Jesus in his human nature…what do you guys think?

The prodigal son made the father happy. God is pleased with us - we have a good relationship with God when we do what He commands us.

God asks St. Peter do you love me? Then feed my lambs - do what I command you to do.

This is how we love each other.

Love is wanting the good of the other for the sake of the other.

Caring is when one hand washes the other.

The new covenant - follow Jesus [do as Jesus] and He will save you.

 

[Mount_Carmel]

If God is complete, wholly and entirely and nothing we do could add to his glory, then what do we mean when we say we perform good acts to “please” him (St Therese of the child Jesus mentioned it a few times)?

God made us fallible and limited in capacity for knowledge, He knows that by our selves we are not complete, and it is part of His Loving completeness to take ‘pleasure’ in our attempts to do what is right, and particularly in our strivings to reach out to Him.

Part of God’s completeness/nature is that of taking pleasure in those who while they can choose to reject Him, prefer to reach out for His Love.

I see God as being akin to the Father in the parable of the Prodigal Son.