We’re living in a culture that moves at a rapid pace. In this culture, we can communicate our thoughts faster than ever through Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus. We can also share our thoughts on a vast array of topics on blogs, podcasts, and other forms of new media. Combine this with the desire of many to share their thoughts with the goal of being published and or sharing their message, and you have a recipe for people seeking to build their own platform and establish themselves as a voice on a vast number of topics. The internet often times brings out the worst in us as Christians rather than the best. Rather than it being a tool for good—the internet is often the opposite. We feel entitled, after all we have a message we want to share, or we feel we must reply to that person to show them how they are wrong. Yes, speaking is important, but how we speak is just as important as when or how we speak. If we can’t speak words to others in love then we should be silent. Not everyone needs to hear our perspective on every issue. It is into this culture and for many reasons Glory Hunger: God, the Gospel, and Our Quest for Something More by seasoned Pastor Jr Vassar is needed.
What exactly is “Glory Hunger”? As human beings we’re hardwired to seek after the glory of Another—God. Knowing this JR writes to help his readers understand the effects of the Fall on our pursuit of the glory of God. Along the way Vassar helps his readers to see how they take glory away from God and how they should seek the glory of God.
One of my primary concerns with the social media phenomena is that we have become a people so focused on building our “platform” (by the way I strongly dislike the word platform!) that we forget the reason why such a “platform” exists, namely to serve others. Instead of calling it a platform we should view all of our ministry as a stewardship. As the author talks about in chapter two we’re to seek after the glory of God. He says, “There is a glory available to us that we are to love, long for, and seek. It is right and legitimate to hunger for it. It is the glory that comes from God, and it is given to us in the gospel of His Son” (35). All of our striving for more recognition, more followers, and so on should be checked at the door of God’s glory. If we’re not seeking the glory of God then we should immediately stop what we’re doing—whether that is a blog, a tweet, a Facebook update a post on Google Plus, a sermon or anything. Our lives exist for one purpose to make much of Jesus! We have been saved for a purpose, and that purpose is to display the glory of the Risen Christ.
Often times in Christian circles you hear it said, “It’s all about Jesus”. I don’t know about you but that phrase has always made me queasy. Yes, it is to be all about Jesus but often what that phrase becomes is the opposite of what Jesus calls us to. Instead of self-sacrifice under the guise of “It’s all about Jesus” we point to ourselves. No, I’m not talking about any particular leader or movement here what I’m simply saying—if we say it’s all about Jesus then it should be all about what the Bible says Jesus is about. If not then we’re misleading people under the guise of “It’s all about Jesus “. We are to seek the glorify Jesus in all we do, say, and yes, even what we think. That should check our motives at the door and cause us to seek not our own applause, not to lust after titles, degrees or whatever our hearts long after, but to earnestly and humbly pursue the praise of Jesus for His glory in all we do and say.
The good news of this book, Glory Hunger, is that it doesn’t leave us waiting to understand the glory and power of God. Rather, again and again, JR points us back to the power source—God and His gospel. As I read this book, I was challenged and encouraged. Challenged in that it can easily become all about what I’m doing rather than what Christ is doing. Truthfully though it isn’t about us—it’s all about what God is doing in and through us. Let that subtle and significant shift sink into your mind and heart. As you do, I encourage you to pick up a copy of Glory Hunger.
Glory Hunger is a great book for any Christian who is serious about knowing and enjoying the Lord. This book will challenge you in all the right ways by pointing you again and again to the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I highly recommend this book and believe it will help all of us who write, blog, podcast, preach, teach and do anything in the Church to examine the ways we rob God of glory, to repent of seeking glory in all the wrong places, and to begin pursuing afresh the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Buy the book at Glory Hunger: God, the Gospel, and Our Quest for Something More, WTS Books or from Crossway.
Dave Jenkins is happily married to his wife, Sarah. He is a writer, editor, and speaker living in beautiful Southern Oregon. Dave is a lover of Christ, His people, the Church, and sound theology. He serves as the Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries, the Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine, the Host and Producer of Equipping You in Grace Podcast, and is a contributor to and producer of Contending for the Word. He is the author of The Word Explored: The Problem of Biblical Illiteracy and What To Do About It (House to House, 2021), The Word Matters: Defending Biblical Authority Against the Spirit of the Age (G3 Press, 2022), and Contentment: The Journey of a Lifetime (Theology for Life, 2024). You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, or read his newsletter. Dave loves to spend time with his wife, going to movies, eating at a nice restaurant, or going out for a round of golf with a good friend. He is also a voracious reader, in particular of Reformed theology, and the Puritans. You will often find him when he’s not busy with ministry reading a pile of the latest books from a wide variety of Christian publishers. Dave received his M.A.R. and M.Div through Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.
