A Means to an End or An End in Himself

Is God a means to an end, or an end in himself? 

A Dangerous Question

Some questions are uncomfortable because they expose what's really happening in our hearts. Many of us are content with a version of Christianity that revolves around receiving God's blessings. We want his guidance, his protection, his provision, and his answers to prayer. None of these things are wrong. Scripture repeatedly encourages us to ask, seek, and knock. God delights in caring for his children. Yet there is a difference between seeking God because of what he can do and seeking God because we desire him. That difference lies at the heart of the Christian life.

When Jesus Confronted the Crowd

To illustrate this point, Bob points to the familiar story of the feeding of the five thousand. After the death of John the Baptist, Jesus sought solitude. He needed space to grieve. Instead, thousands of people followed him into the wilderness. Rather than turning them away, Jesus had compassion on them. He healed the sick, taught them throughout the day, and eventually fed the crowd with five loaves and two fish. The next day, however, something changed. The crowd found Jesus again, but this time he confronted their motives:

“You are seeking me not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.”

Throughout John's Gospel, Jesus' miracles are called signs. A sign points beyond itself to something greater. The miracles were intended to reveal who Jesus was and draw people into relationship with him. But the crowd missed the point. They weren't pursuing Jesus because they wanted Jesus. They were pursuing him because of what he had done for them. They wanted another meal. Another miracle. Another blessing. Jesus had become a means to an end.

The Same Danger for Us

It's easy to read that story and assume we're different. But are we? When we look honestly at our prayer lives, we may discover that much of our relationship with God is transactional. We come to him with requests, concerns, and needs. Again, there is nothing wrong with bringing those things before God. In fact, Scripture encourages us to do exactly that.  The danger comes when requests become the entirety of our relationship. If our prayers consist only of "God, do this for me" or "God, help me with that," we can unknowingly reduce God to a divine problem-solver, a cosmic wish-granter who exists primarily to improve our circumstances. When that happens, we may be seeking God's gifts more than God himself.

Why Did God Create Us?

To answer this problem, we have to step back and ask a bigger question:

Why do human beings exist at all?

God did not create humanity because he was lonely, bored, or incomplete. Before creation, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit already existed in perfect fellowship and perfect love. Nothing was lacking. Yet God's love is not something that remains contained within itself. Genuine love overflows. It seeks expression. It gives itself away.  God created humanity because he desired to share his love with us.

Even more astonishing is the fact that God did so knowing exactly what it would cost him. Before the foundation of the world, God knew humanity would rebel. He knew sin would enter creation. He knew that the eternal Son would go to the cross to redeem his people. And yet he created us anyway. That is the depth of God's love. As the Apostle Paul writes, nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Knowing About God's Love vs. Experiencing It

Many Christians understand these truths intellectually. We know that God loves us. We know that Christ died for us. We know that salvation is by grace. But there is a difference between knowing about God's love and actually experiencing and enjoying God's love.

The goal of the Christian life is not merely theological accuracy. The goal is communion with God himself. God desires more than our agreement with certain doctrines. He desires relationship. He invites us into fellowship with him. That means moving beyond simply collecting information about God and learning to delight in his presence.

God as the End

This is why the question matters so much:

Is God a means to an end or an end in himself?

As long as our relationship remains primarily transactional, we will never fully experience the joy God intends for us. The Psalms provide a different picture.

Psalm 63 declares:

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you.” 

Notice what the psalmist longs for:

Not primarily answers.

Not primarily blessings.

Not even primarily relief from problems.

The psalmist longs for God.

God himself is the treasure.

God himself is the destination.

God himself is the reward.

Developing a Holy Dissatisfaction

One of the most powerful themes of this sermon is the call to develop what Henry describes as a holy dissatisfaction with simply knowing about God. The Christian life is not meant to stop at facts, doctrines, or even ministry activity. It is meant to lead us into deeper intimacy with the Lord. That journey begins when we become dissatisfied with a merely transactional faith and begin longing for God himself. Not because of what he might give. Not because of what he might do. But because he is worthy of our love and devotion.

Seeking God with Our Whole Heart

The sermon concludes with a promise from the prophet Jeremiah:

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” 

That promise remains true today. God is not hiding from those who desire him. He invites us into a deeper relationship marked by love, joy, and fellowship. He calls us beyond simply knowing about him and into truly enjoying him. The path begins with a simple but searching question:

Do we want God's gifts, or do we want God?

And when God himself becomes our greatest desire, we discover that he is not merely a means to an end.He is the end for which we were created.