He Delights in Our Pleasure

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“Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of His divine being,” Rom 1:18-20

Seize life! Eat bread with gusto, drink wine with a robust heart. Oh yes---God takes pleasure in your pleasure…each day is God’s gift! Eccl 9:8-9
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Being someone who loves to create, I’m fascinated by the creativity God poured into our world. I regularly point out to the boys, ‘look at the red of that cardinal,’ ‘ummm, the taste of that cinnamon bun,’ ‘wow the energy of that guitar,’ ‘the softness of that fur’---I am eager for them to experience and note the artistry of our Creator who was lavish in His designs.

God could have colored our world exclusively with a blanket of blah grays. Our food could have been fully delivered in a spoon of cod liver oil. Our world could have been textured in the plastic of a grandmother’s living room. Our earth’s permeating odor could have been that of a paper plant (if you’ve never smelled one count yourself fortunate!).

I ask the boys to imagine what life would be like if God had not been lavish in His design. What would they miss most? What are they most grateful for in God’s design? God gave us a wide range to experience life from in all our senses because He is a Creator! When you make something for someone, you desire them to take time to revel in it. This must be why God gave us senses.

Sometimes in Christian circles I see a tendency towards somberness and a fear of appearing to enjoy anything too much. As though God would give us the senses and then say---no, don’t you dare enjoy that! I remember once someone trying to justify why sex was only intended for procreation with the rationale ‘because we have to do it to survive.’ I replied, ‘well, we also have to breathe to survive and He didn’t make that feel good!’ Our response to the beauty and grandness of this life is meant to point us to our Creator. He gifted us with senses to enjoy His creation. He didn’t have to do that. He delights in giving beauty and enjoyment to His children, just as we earthly parents do. God takes pleasure in our pleasure!