I Timothy 4:1-5


Don't you love this verse:  For everything God created is good! (v. 4). Such a positive, hopeful statement.  And yet, look at the verses before that:  why would Timothy find it necessary to instruct new Christians to stay away from hypocritical liars?

Asceticism, a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, was a common heresy during the time of the early church  Somehow, denying yourself physical pleasure would make you a better Christian.  Indeed, as we read last week in I John, sex outside of the way God designed us leads to a path of self-destruction.  But sex in and of itself is good!  Look at the rest of that verse 4 and into verse 5:

For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

So simple, and yet so profound.  Everything God created is good, and yet we humans are always looking for ways to judge each other (watch out - don't eat that!  don't do that!).  Hypocritical liars abound - including, yes, some of us at some points in our faith journey.   It's easier to sit in judgment on 'those people' rather than look at our own sinful life.

Everything God created is good.  Take some time to give thanks for this incredible world he created.  Take a walk and soak in the beauty around you - yes, he created it.  Thank him for dear friends and family - he loves them more than you can imagine, and longs for them to know him.  Bow your head and thank him for the delicious meal you are about to enjoy.  Thank him for the opportunity to share the Good News with others.  Delight in art, in music - he designed us to soak in beauty. 

And when suffering and pain come - and yes, they will come - thank him that he has designed you for eternity, and that this will pass.  And, as the words in Amazing Grace remind us, when we've been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less case to sing God's grace, than when we first begun.