Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing.
You guard all that is mine.
The land you have given me is a pleasant land.
What a wonderful inheritance!
I will bless the Lord who guides me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I know the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice.
My body rests in safety…
– Psalm 16:5-9

Today’s post – Sunday morning – is a mishmash of images and impressions from the past 48 hours.

I’ve been busy, I’ve had fun, I’ve worked hard, and I’ve written almost nothing. But sometimes the most profound statement of faith I can make is to simply enjoy each moment as I experience it, then watch it quickly slip away as the next comes into focus.

The most essential principle to understand (when living as if every minute, hour, day, week, month and year were a gift and a trust) is the beautiful truth that we were created, animated with life, and placed here on this earth with an important purpose to fulfill.

Westminster Catechism: And that purpose is – as expressed by the words of the Westminster Shorter Catechism – to glorify God, and to enjoy God forever.

One of the most critically important things we can do, as witnesses to God’s grace, is to live into this idea with passion, gratitude, and joy. There is nothing any one of us can say that has any more power to lift someone’s heart, and to instigate a positive response to the Good News story, than the witness of life well lived, with authentic joy and a heart that is thankful toward God.

There is nothing any one of us can say to instigate a positive response to the Good News story, than the witness of life well lived, with authentic joy and a heart that is thankful toward God.

Likewise there is little we can do to sabotage God’s initiatives that is any more effective in opposing the Gospel than a sour disposition, a critical heart, and a negative frame of mind – especially when paired with words that circumnavigate grace in favor of judgment and complaint.

So my testimony today is simply one of joy in living. The amazing beauty of this long, cool end to April; the sense of accomplishment in taking a reciprocating saw to the remainder of the back garden fence; the laughter in seeing Scout immediately enjoy the opportunity to bark at a passing friend; the powerful sense of community experienced at the Saturday morning men’s Bible-study; the sheer fun of playing golf in a light rain with a great friend; the sense of promise held in the four Japanese Maples Rebekah and I purchased Saturday afternoon; the beauty of a quiet dinner shared with the great love of my life.

Or, as the Psalmist concludes: “You show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever!”

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