Sunday, May 29, 2016

Joy

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.

The politics of entitlement and of anger seem to grow from a deep-seated feeling that people have been robbed or cheated, either by the government or other people. There is a fundamental error in thinking that a change in government policy or action will remedy this. We have been robbed of the joy of experiencing God's presence. And this theft was perpetrated by the evil one, that fallen angel who has tempted us to sin. We think we know right and wrong, good and evil, but we reject God's revelation and provision. As St. Augustine said, "Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee." No politician can do this. There is only one Savior and He made must deliver us from our joyless separation from God.