What experience with the Lord could bring the deep-seated joy
that transcends earthly pleasures? Are there parallel sensations to touch,
sight, sound, taste, or smell in the spiritual realm that will bring joy far
beyond the pleasure we feel in earthly sensations? When we see Him as He is,
what will it look like? Are our spirits shaped to respond with the spiritual
equivalent of endorphins when He smiles on us or when we sense His close
presence?
Music is perhaps a clue, as we experience pleasure in worship of
God in song, in the congregation. This perhaps is recorded in the dedication of
the Temple (2 Chron. 5:14). Art and
architecture provide another clue, although the beauty of the most stunning
manmade creation pales compared to the natural beauty of a sunrise or a scenic
mountain vista. We perhaps get a sense of the spiritual dimension of this when
we read David's invitation to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. We
don't usually think of holiness as beautiful. Most likely that is because we
have heard the world's distortion of holiness as an attribute of prudish prigs
who look down on everyone else. We do not see God's holiness inextricably fused
with His love. We do not see that it was this love that caused God to send
Jesus to the cross to rescue us from the consequences of the folly of our sin.
And when we fully perceive the spiritual depth of His love and holiness, we
will fall to our knees in worship, and be overwhelmed by entering into the joy
of our Master.
The Biblical examples of those who see God's glory unveiled does
not necessarily convey the experience of joy. The visions by Isaiah and
Ezekiel, the disciples on the mount of transfiguration, and John on the Isle of
Patmos of either the throne of God or the glorified Jesus all show a response more akin to terror than
joy.
Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the morning, and it
is hard to believe they lacked the joy of being in His presence. We could guess
that the reason they traded it for the sorrow of sin that came from eating of
the tree of knowing good and evil was ignorance. They did not truly understand
the consequences of doing what God said not to. God foresaw this. But what can
we learn about God from this?
God already had created angels. Some had rebelled, apparently
beyond any possibility of redemption. Apparently, God's desire to have a people
that would worship and fellowship and obey Him in on His moral level was so
strong that He created mankind with the determination that if we rebelled but
then repented, He would pay the price to redeem us and restore us to
fellowship. We know what that price was. But we also realize how strong was His
desire to create a people who would freely choose to walk with Him based on
faith but also bloodied by experience.
