This week in church we looked at the meaning of life. Big stuff, and yet wonderfully simple, if you look at the creation account in Genesis 1:1-2:3. God makes it all so that he can sit down and enjoy it!
The immense privilege that we as his creation are given is to enter his rest and enjoy him. Not because we have finished our work, but because he has finished. He has finished creation. And though we’ve done a pretty thorough job of messing it up through our sin, he has also finished the work of redemption – making a way for us to enjoy relationship with him (John 19:30). Through Jesus’ death on the cross, our sins can be forgiven and we can now enter His rest and enjoy him forever.
All this talk of enjoying God made me feel unsettled. When I think of spending time with God, listening to him through his word and praying, I can have a bit of a ‘oh, I ought to do that’ mentality. More like a tick box-obligation, than a joy.
Which got me thinking, and talking with others.
Do I enjoy God? Do I rest with him? What might that look like in practice?
I was chatting with a friend at church, who said, ‘I used to love Sunday mornings. My church service was in the afternoon, so I would set my alarm to make sure I got up, so I could spend the morning with God on my own. I looked forward to it so much.’
Another friend said to me, “I can’t come out Wednesday evening. That’s my evening to spend a good chunk of time reading my Bible, having an extended time of prayer and then reading a chapter of a Christian book. I’ve enjoyed it so much.”
What strikes me is not so much their practice, but their attitude. They look forward to time with God. The enjoy it. They want to stay there for as long as possible. They would sacrifice other pleasures for time with God because that is more enjoyable.
Let’s not overcomplicate this. We enjoy God the same way we enjoy any relationship. Putting time in our diary to spend together. Making an effort to make the time nice (David Mathis suggests a comfortable location, favourite drink, maybe listening to music as part of it… read more). Looking forward to that time. Not wanting to hurry away.
We have the privilege at The Globe Church of having an afternoon service. Why not set an alarm for Sunday morning? Grab a nice drink, find a quiet spot, get your Bible open and ask God to speak to you.
We’re going through Luke in Globe Focus at the moment, why not start there? Take a small chunk, looking for something that strikes you. Perhaps something about who God is, or how we treat him. Stop and think about that. David Cook recommends reading for 1 minute, thinking for 4.
Now work it into your life with WRCIT…
- Worship: Turn that truth into worship – exalting God for who he is. Maybe use a worship song if one comes to mind.
- Repent: Think about how you have neglected that truth. Dig deep and ask why my heart doesn’t do this. Say sorry specifically for where you have done wrong.
- Connect: Then ask yourself: ‘what difference will this truth make in my life.’ Prayerfully resolve to make a concrete small change. You could ask a friend to pray for you in this, or text a reminder to yourself.
- Intercede: Pray for others, that they would understand this truth about God.
- Thanks: Enjoy God – thank him for who he is, for what he’s doing in your life.
Just like any relationship, we don’t just spend an hour together then that’s it. We would message or phone daily. So it is with God – we can enjoy Him on our tube journey as we remember Sunday’s sermon and worship Him for what we’ve learned. We can enjoy Him as we notice ourselves slipping back into that sin again and send up an arrow prayer saying “sorry – please help me to change!” We can enjoy Him every morning over a cup of coffee, reading a few verses, to discover a truth then WRCIT into our life.
What’s the meaning of life? God made everything so that He could sit down and enjoy it. What greater privilege than enjoying it with Him?