Omega Point: Who or What is Yours?

Pastor Tim Keller has such a profound gift for clearly proclaiming the truths of the gospel.  In his sermon “The Cosmic King”, Tim Keller makes a point that “You don't serve God to get things. You serve God to get God. God is His own happy ending.” Keller explains that our omega points are the things of which we say, “Unless I have ______, my life is meaningless.” I was so convicted by this, and I have since done a lot of reflecting. Am I purely serving God and using Him as the means to my own end?  Well, how do I know if I am simply using God in this manner?  Well, how do I respond to God when things don’t go the way I would like?  Do I come before God in frustration and say “I’ve done_______, _______, and _______ for You, so why is _______ still happening?”  Or maybe even, “Why haven’t I received _______ after all I’ve done?”   If so, this is a telltale sign that I am using God as a slot machine—I expect to put in my time, prayers, and service in return for the “stuff” I want—my “omega points” as Keller calls them.

Tim Keller makes a profound point in his sermon, one which hit me hard.    Essentially, he states that if you are using God to reach your own ends, you are merely treating him as “chopped liver”, and in the end you will find yourself without God and without the “end” or “point” you were pursuing.  Keller states, “The things that you want the most, you’ll never get if you want them the most.  Because anything you want the most is your omega point, and any omega point but Jesus Christ will self-destruct.”  Secondary things cannot become ultimate things, but oh how quickly we elevate them to that position!   When we do this, we are essentially treating God as if He is negotiable, and our own ends are non-negotiable.  Often as a result, when we don’t get the things we want, we stop using God because He has “failed” and so we turn to other things to help us reach our end-goals. What a difference from the way we were purposed to live our lives, serving God to get God!

My prayer is that Jesus Christ will be my greatest end.  I want to serve Him to get Him without the ulterior motive of using Him to meet my other, lower end points.  Every moment of my life is meaningful and meant to be centered on Christ, and so only the things that are done through Him, for Him, and with Him will truly last.  Christ will last—nothing else will! In Christ I have everything, and as Keller points out, anything outside of Himself that He chooses to bless me with in this life is gravy. In the midst of the busyness of this spring semester, my longing prayer is that I will have a heart and a passion for God, accompanied by a deep hunger to know Him and make Him known.  May I never make use of God as my means, for He is the only true and glorious omega point!     

CLICK HERE to listen to Cosmic King