We were meant to live...

So I am a pastor. which means I get to teach the Bible to people every week.  I love what I do.  

Lately I've been contemplating the beginning of our Story-- the Book of Genesis.  This book is so about you and me.  I find myself in its pages a lot!  One of the huge things that I've seen so clearly over the last couple of days is God's original intention and plan for us...the people he created.  We were made not only by him, but we were made for him.  For relationship.  For friendship.  For total and complete intimacy with God! That was God's plan for us.

I ran across this quote from Martin Luther that I can't stop thinking about: "And so when Adam had been created in such a way that he was, as it were, intoxicated with rejoicing toward God and was delighted also with all the other creatures, there is now created a new tree for the distinguishing of good and evil, so that Adam might have a definite way to express his worship and reverence toward God."

Intoxicated with rejoicing toward God...

WOW! I don't know about you, but I want that to be me.  I want to be gloriously intoxicated with joy toward the One who desires to be in relationship with me.  I want to be filled to overflowing with joy toward him.

If you know much about this big Story, you know that we messed it up pretty quickly.  Our first parents, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God and our relationship with Him was utterly, yet not finally, broken.  

The amazing thing is that God still pursues us.  God extends his embrace to us in the person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus forgives, heals, restores, renews and gloriously fills us with joy.  Pursue his embrace and be filled-- intoxicated-- with him