Enjoy.

We have been using Adam Hamilton's book, Unafraid, for our weekly zoom Bible study.  In the text for this week he mentions this question from the Westminster Catechism.  This is a 17th century document that was written by the Westminster Assembly to be used to teach new Christians. It helped clarify the connection between the Church of England and the Church of Scotland. The above quote is probably its most well known question, and it is still a large part of the reformed tradition.  

I'm not sure why exactly, but as I prepared for the study tonight this really stuck in my head all day.  I did some digging and realized that this response is connected to these Scriptures: 

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

1 Corinthians 10:31 

"For from God and through God and for God are all things. To God be the glory forever! Amen."

Romans 11:36 

"You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.  Whom have I in heaven but you?  And earth has nothing I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."  

Psalm 73: 24-26 

"I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one."

John 17:22

To glorify God means to fully recognize, honor, praise, and worship God.  I think it is a matter of reverence and recognition that God is bigger than we can fully comprehend, yet we are invited into this dance with our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.  Through Christ we have been grafted in to this power and righteousness and when we grasp on to that how can we not be filled with overwhelming joy?

It's really the second half of that sentence that grabbed my attention today.  Not only can we glorify god, but we can enjoy God.  How do you enjoy God?  

These days it might feel like we are losing our footing and routine with God.  I know for me that not gathering for worship has really felt so foreign and almost as though a piece of my spirit is not fully functioning.  And yet, I have had to be more intentional about connecting with God, and taking notice of those moments of gratitude in the midst of rather long days.  The more diligent I am, the more I recognize and enjoy the movement of God - which truly can be found all over the place. 

For some Christians, God is a figure to be feared, the great being in the sky that is always watching with an eye to discipline. This is not the God I know, the one who calls me friend, the one I encounter in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.   My God, I Am, offers humanity a reason to celebrate - to enjoy this daily adventure of life with the humble recognition that the one who created the heavens, also has a loving eye on each of us. This is the kind of God I know, one who helps navigate the big things, yet who is deeply invested in the smallest things too.  

When is the last time you stopped to enjoy God?  When is the last time you laughed with God, sang to God, cried to God?  When our world feels chaotic, and we are distanced from the ones we love, we must take note of the little ways God is at work and alive around us.  

Take some time to look at the intricate details inside of a flower, read Psalm 139, find something that brings you joy and engage in it with gusto.  Turn up the worship music and sing loud in the shower.  

When things get heavy, remember that God delights in you - you can delight in God, too!

Love You,

Pastor Devon