A Quest for More: Chapter One

Part Two of our Book Study on A Quest for More by Paul David Tripp.

Chapter One: A Quest for More

BIG IDEA:

"There is woven inside each of us a desire for something more--a craving to be part of something bigger, greater, and more profound than our relatively meaningless day-to-day existence" (page 14).

BRIEF OUTLINE:

"You were hardwired by your Creator for a glory orientation...We were simply made for glory, but not just the shadow glories of the created world. We were made for the one glory that is transcendent--the glory of God. When you grasp this, your life begins to make a difference" (pp. 18-19).

"Let's consider the glory-focus of Genesis 1 and 2. There are four transcendent glories that were created to be the life-shaping focus of every human being. The first is the glory for which every human being is to live, and the following three are glories that flow from the first" (page 19).

• "God glory...our lives were designed to be shaped more by our attachment to the Creator than by the creation. We were made to experience, to be part of, to be consumed by, and to live in pursuit of the one glory that is truly glorious--the glory of God" (page 19).

• "Stewardship glory...[Adam and Eve] were constructed to do more than take care of themselves; they were called to care for the wide variety of amazing things God had purposefully crafted to be reflectors of his glory...it was a call for Adam and Eve to never shrink the size of their care to care for themselves" (page 20).

• "Community glory...God makes Adam and Eve and immediately calls them to the transcendent glory of a world-reaching, generation-spanning, and history-encompassing community. This commitment to community was meant to be a major shaping focus of their day-to-day living" (page 21).

• "Truth glory...Immediately upon creating Adam and Eve, God did something that he had not done with anything else he made. He spoke to them...God's words contained knowledge of him, the meaning and purpose of life, a moral structure for living, the nature of human identity, a fundamental human job description, a call to human community, and a call to divine worship...Every thought was meant to be shaped by the truth glory that he would patiently and progressively impart to them" (pp. 21-22).

SOME FAVORITE QUOTES:

"I am afraid there are many people of faith who attend church each week, give regularly to God's work, know their Bible pretty well, and don't live overtly evil lives; but they have settled for 'below and less' when they were created for 'above and more.'

The mistake they have made is that they have shrunk their Christianity to the size of their own lives. They have taken God's grace and wisdom as an invitation to a better marriage, a better relationship with their children, a better extended family life, better success at work, etc. And there is a way that God's grace does invite me to all of these things. But here is the point of this little book: God invites you to so much more!" (pp. 17-18)

"It is about living for a greater kingdom than the kingdom of my life, my family, and my job. And where do I live for this greater kingdom? In my life, my family, and my job!" (page 23)