Two Responses to the magnitude of God's beauty

Psalm 63:3
"Because your unfailing love is better than life- my lips will glorify you!"

God's love is better than life!!! His love is sweeter than honey. He is more satisfying than riches! He is more beautiful than the most beautiful thing in His created world! More grand... more intoxicating.
A sensory overload.

People have two responses to this concept of Christ being infinitely better than all we could imagine or experience on earth. The attitude of- Christ is greater than this pleasure- why would I enjoy this pleasure... If Christ is better than life- why live? If more satisfying than riches- why have money? How bout taking that to- if he is more enjoyable than sex, why have it at all?
OR you can have the attitude that Christ is greater! But BECAUSE He is greater- these infinitely smaller pleasures, within His written boundaries, are a joyful reflection of that.

Im sure I am going to do a terrible job conveying this concept... While at the (awesome) FOCUS conference in NC last weekend, Rick Holland gave a great sermon on enjoying things to the glory of God... especially youth before the light is dim and we are old and deaf and boring! ;) (no offense to my elderly readers! HA. If I have any elderly readers... O MAN.) He contrasted Ecclesiastes 11 and 12 with chapter 2... where at the end of the book Solomon promotes the enjoyment of things within God's bounds, and in chapter 2, he reminds that he sought out every form of pleasure to bring him happiness- and it was all meaningless!

Rick especially talked most beautifully about the Krispy Kreme donut. And how a Christian should be able to enjoy the donut FAR MORE FULLY than any other human being on earth. I don't even desire donuts and it made me want to go get one and revel in how great our God is magnified (telescopically) by eating it for His glory!

He also spoke about Jonathan Edwards. His #1 Resolve was "Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God' s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure..."
Doesn't this seem like a contradiction?
Not at all... because Edwards understood that God was the author of every single gift in His life! And that life was broken but enjoyable nonetheless.

Just read CJ Mahaney's book on Worldliness (shout out Jamie) and he also does a much better job articulating this than I can.
"Gospel centered living is grateful living. Whatever we do is to be done with thanks toward God. Whatever in this verse certainly includes entertainment. If we can't thank God with a clear conscience for a particular program or movie, we shouldn't watch it. But if we're wisely investing our time and watching something that is true, honorable, just, pure or lovely (Phil 4:8) then by all means we should thank God for it! We shouldn't watch sheepishly or with a vague sense of guilt but freely thanking God for the viewing experience. God is honored not only by us avoiding sin, but also by our active gratitude for the many good things he provides, including drama, cinematography, creativity, beauty, and laughter.

Eve was the first person to take God's words and distort them in this way... God COMMANDED that Adam and Eve ENJOY everything in the garden (within his bounds, abstaining from the tree of knowlege of good and evil) and she misquoted God by adding to his words- making her standards higher than Gods in chapter 3 verse 2.

Thank you Lord for being the author of pleasure and beauty and enjoyment, SO THAT we could be reminded of how great you are! May we never pursue these things as an end in themselves, but may they cause us to delight more fully in you, overwhelm us with awe and gratitude, and result in glory, honor, and praise on the day you are revealed! Please remind me of the true purpose as I enjoy and "love the life" (shout out Kata, Joe and Tracy) He has given me!

Wow that was long. ;)
Great sermon:
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1991/740_Sweeter_than_Honey_Better_than_Gold/

"Eat honey my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste. Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul." (Prov 24:13)