Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Weekly Article 1

BEING GOD'S PLEASURE

Rick Warren tells us in his book The Purpose Driven Life that we “were planned for God’s pleasure” (page 63). When I first read this sentence, I was taken aback because of the first images that popped into my head: a court jester with a tear painted on his cheek and God up there in heaven looking down and getting enjoyment out of this world’s mess and particularly mine. I saw God as a fat king on a throne laughing heartily at our misfortunes and mistakes, knowing that he would never have made them.

As I stepped back, I knew those images were merely evil thoughts trying to make me doubt God’s intentions and the meaning behind verses like Psalm 149:4a, which says, “the LORD takes pleasure in [the Lord’s] people.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement. I looked across the room and saw Emmett, my Beta fish, swimming happily around his tank. Emmett has long, beautiful fins that wave around as he zigzags through the water. I watched him swim around in his little world for a few minutes, and a beautiful thought came into my mind. I imagined that God gets the same enjoyment out of watching my life as I receive from watching my fish swim about. I get frustrated with Emmett when he won’t come to the glass when I approach him, when he won’t swim through his toys when I want him to, or when he gets puffed up at me when I turn his light on or clean his tank. Emmett only comes to me consistently when he’s hungry.

I realized that in a similar way, God probably gets frustrated with me when I run from God, when I get angry at God, or when I don’t do what is best for me. Maybe I only do what God wants me to do when I’m in trouble and when I’m hungry and need God to feed me.

Yet God still has the enjoyment of watching my life and participating in it when I am open. And God does even more for us: The Bible tells us in John 3:16 that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (NIV). I can’t read a verse like that and think that God would ever look at us as mere entertainment; rather, God would see us as children to cherish. Our loving God watches with mercy, compassion, and grace as we play, work, worship, run, sing, and sob. God gets pleasure and enjoyment out of our lives, hoping we will allow God into our lives more often. God longs for more interaction with us, so that God is the center of our lives.

As I watch Emmett swim around in his little tank, I hope he loves me as much as I love the one who watches me swim around in my little world. Emmett is my pet, and while I am not fond of thinking myself as a pet of God, I think that being “God’s pet” is not such a bad thing. I know that God loves me, and I am content in being God’s pleasure.

“The LORD takes delight in [the Lord’s] people.” (Psalm 149:4a, NIV)

“You created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.” (Revelation 4:11b, NLT)

Written by Bethany Bolin (The United Methodist Publishing House, 2004)