Pursue Fruit, Not Peaches

Once a woman told John Piper, "I don’t think you should say, ‘Pursue joy with all your might.’ I think you should say, ‘Pursue obedience with all your might.’"

Piper responded, "But that’s like saying, ‘Don’t pursue peaches with all your might, pursue fruit.’"

I've been thinking about this as I read the Psalms. Joy and obedience are all tangled up together.

God gives us commands so that we can delight in Him.

"Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!" (Ps. 32:11)

"Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, 'Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!'" (Ps. 35:27)

"Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth" (Ps. 67:4).

God expects both obedience and joy. But as Piper suggests, aren't they really intertwined? For the Christian, we obey God with joy and delight in God by obedience.

And that's pretty encouraging.

Photo Credit: Oregon Department of Agriculture and Flickr Creative Commons.