We were created for joy. We were created for other things as well, of course, but I believe that joy was intended by God to be a fundamental aspect of our human experience. As Christians, we may sometimes feel that focusing on joy is inappropriate, perhaps because we equate it with a "worldly" obsession with the pursuit of pleasure.
In this, I believe joy is underrated. The book of Genesis tells us that when God had finished the work of creation, God looked upon what He had made and saw that it was good. God delighted in His good creation, all of the beautiful things that He brought into existence, and this includes most of all you and me, human beings created in God's own image.
So, for those created in God's image, taking joy and delight in God's creation, in one another, and the gift of life itself are all very important aspects of being human. In Psalm 104, the psalmist delights in God's creation, praises God, and rejoices.
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
2 wrapped in light as with a garment.
You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
3 you set the beams of your chambers on the waters,
you make the clouds your chariot,
you ride on the wings of the wind,
4 you make the winds your messengers,
fire and flame your ministers.
5 You set the earth on its foundations,
so that it shall never be shaken.
6 You cover it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they flee;
at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.
8 They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys
to the place that you appointed for them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure for ever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works—
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
I encourage you today to take delight in God's good creation. Step outside, go for a walk, or at least look out the window; see what God has made and rejoice in it. If you can, look upon the face of another person, and give thanks for them. Allow yourself to rest and enjoy the gift of life itself.
Have a blessed day,
Pastor Chris
Comments
Post a Comment