hedonistic

Our faith was born at the sight of His fondness.

And so we went.

A person defined as a "hedonist" is basically a pleasure seeker. I can only imagine how many times the church has preached against pleasure, at least in a physical sense. I bring this up because I'm re-reading through one of my favorite books/ studies: The Beloved Disciple: Following John to the Heart of Jesus, by Beth Moore.

In this chapter she confesses that she is a Christian hedonist. I find that very funny and extremely enviable. Let me explain...

Augustine wrote, "How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose!... You drove them from me, You who are the true, the sovereign Joy. You drove them from me and took their place, You who are sweeter than all pleasure."

C.S. Lewis wrote, "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

Beth writes, "When we pursue Him feverishly and desire to love Him passionately, we will have an unexpected and stunning collision with joy and fulfillment."

God says to Abraham (then Abram) in Genesis 15:1, "Do not be afraid... I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."

I could not imagine accepting this truth of God being our great love, our lasting joy, if I had not experienced it myself and continue to experience it constantly and consistently in my life. I also consistently fall short of the realization that none other can satisfy like He can. My heart's desire is to be able to confidently confess that, "Jesus is the uncontested delight of my life." I have much farther to go.

"C.S. Lewis was right. We have been too easily pleased. Somewhere along the way many of us formed a concept of Christ and settled with it. So few really grasp the invitation to great adventure. They try to reduce God to nothing but religion, then grow bored with the image they created. As a result, hearts become accidents waiting to happen, for our souls were instead created to exult and dance in holy passion. If we don't find it in the Holy One, we'll search for it amid the smoldering heaps of the unholy. I have burn scars to prove it."

How different everything would be if we could grasp that statement. Our souls were not intended to endure such heartbreak and abuse that we put them through. A question that baffles me is why do we run from such a loving, accepting God? Is it pride, ignorance, fear? I am stumped. In view of some of the brokenness that I have seen in the lives of people, it does not make sense why we would keep running from healing, from our Healer.

I love this blessing in Deuteronomy 33:12:

God's Beloved,

God's permanent residence,

encircled by God all day long

within whom God is at home.

I believe that is a blessing to be received by every single person-- for our hearts to be His home, for our identities to be found in our belovedness. We are the objects of His affection.

I want that to be a legacy of my life... not so much that people thought highly of me, but that those who lived around me felt the adoration of my Father, saw the joy of my surrender, experienced the Love of my life.

"I am convinced that God welcomes the hedonistic approach that says, 'God, You are the best thing that could ever happen to me, so happen indeed!'"