Enjoy It!

The beauty of today is hard to miss here in Pearland! God is with us and holding us in his powerful hand, whether it's sunny or rainy outside. There is nothing I long for more than to hear God's voice. I know that he has good plans for me, and they will be realized only if I am listening and moving to his rhythms. Today, I'm listening for what he wants to say through this text of Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:1-8. Come along and let's listen together!

For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. (v. 4-5)

God is good, indeed! What strikes me here is that in warning about "deceiving spirits and things taught by demons" (v. 1), he is not thinking of slipping past moral boundaries and going with the world's flow, as we might expect. (He warns about that elsewhere.) He's cautioning us here about ascetic, legalistic, joy-smothering religious positions that make God look like a Cosmic version of the head nun at a strict Catholic school.

I'm so glad that God has created so many things for us to enjoy! He didn't have to make the world so beautiful. He didn't have to build into human nature our love for good food (can anyone say Thanksgiving?), or for the amazing, passionate love experienced in the holy union of marriage. But he did, and he gave it to us to enjoy! One of the myths that unbelievers believe about Christianity is that it takes all the fun out of life. Not true, says God! He just helps us discern the difference between fun that is healthy and life-enhancing and fun that insidiously robs us of our deepest needs.

I'm going to enjoy God's blessings today! And I'm going to thank him for all the good things he has placed in my life to bring me joy. Thank you, God, for reminding me of how good you are to me!

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