GOD’s Masterpiece – Ephesians 2:8-10
As I’m writing this I’m enjoying some vacation time with my family on Jekyll Island in southern Georgia . The first evening we were here we ate dinner out on the wharf and after dinner we walked along the intercoastal waterway and got to see the sun set down below the horizon. I have seen sunsets before, but as I watched this beautiful thing I was reminded that God designed life to be enjoyed.
It has become epidemic in western society that life is meant to be lived at a blistering pace. Earning a living, saving a little, paying the bills and hopefully one day we will have saved enough and we can retire and enjoy the rest of our lives in peaceful living. But if God had intended us to not really enjoy life till the last third of life then why did he create sunsets? Why did he create children’s smiles to be so intoxicating? Why did he give us 4 seasons, or 3.5 in Northeast GA ? Why did God create color? I could go on and on.
God most definitely desires for us to enjoy life. Yes we should work hard, we can find that clearly stated in the Bible. But he also desires for us to LOVE LIFE!! I think this is why the “Life is Good” shirt company resonates so strongly with me. God desires us to have the attitude that life is good as much as possible. Yes there will be seasons of pain and strife. Yes, there will be times of sadness and mourning. Yes, there will be trouble because we are children and followers of God (Jesus promises that in John 16:33). However, multiple times and in many ways Jesus also tells us that he came to give us life. Not just hum-drum, trudge through the mud of life; but life so filled with promise, hope, and joy that we can’t help but say LIFE IS GOOD!!!
I am so uplifted when I meet people who actually do have this attitude because it reminds me that I have a purpose and a calling on my life that demands I have a Joyful outlook. My God who has saved me from eternal death has a purpose for my life here on earth before I spend eternity with him. It is because of that very purpose that God allows me to wake up every morning with air in my lungs. How can I not have joy in my heart?!?! I am a fully devoted follower and LIFE IS GOOD!!!! If you haven’t seen a sunset lately you should try it, maybe it’ll give you some perspective that God loves you enough to let you see this amazing beauty created by God for you and me, his true Masterpieces.