Devotions from Gary Thomas’  Pure Pleasure

Do we really know what it means to live in the love of God and to believe He delights in us?

Julian of Norwich said,” He makes us love all that He loves, for His love’s sake, and makes us take pleasure in Him and all His works.

God isn’t just our Redeemer, he is also our creator and brilliant designer. “He made us, and He made the world. So when we participate in this world as he made it, we celebrate Him every bit as much as we honor Him when we do things that reflect His redeeming work.  In fact, we insult Him when we deny the glory of God in His creativity.” He is more than our Savior and rescuer for He invites us to enjoy Him and all that He has made.  He wants us to use the world to enjoy Him for it points to Him.  That means we can enjoy prayer and worship etc but we can also enjoy traveling, reading for pleasure, laughter, exercise etc. When we are “redeemed by Jesus, we are finally set free to truly enjoy and participate in the things of this world without becoming sinfully entangled by them.” In a literal sense, every aspect of our lives that we find satisfying ultimately has its roots in God’s goodness. But if we use pleasures contrary to God’s design then it can become an idolatry. 
So may we let God’s blessings and pleasures remind us of God rather than to dull us to His presence. Under His rule, this created world becomes a lovely place of worship, delight, and spiritual wonder.