Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Using our Senses

Found this free E-Book today! Good find. Fairly quick read. (UPDATE: On second look, not so quick, acutally quite meaty!)

Particularly like Chapter 11, HOW TO WIELD THE WORLD IN THE FIGHT FOR JOY, Using All Five Senses to See the Glory of God.  Particularly interesting to me because that is how I like to find joy, through my senses of hearing, smelling, tasting (my mouth is salivating) touching and seeing the beauty in God's creation. Same technique I use teaching the preschoolers as well. Here's the quote that popped out to me:

"So the question must be faced: How do we use the created world around us, including our own bodies, to help us fight for joy in God?In God, I say! (Emphasis mine)Not in nature.  Not in music. Not in health. Not in food or drink. Not in natural beauty. How can all these good gifts serve joy in God, and not usurp the supreme affections of our hearts?" p. 173
My morning devotion answered this quite well:
"God should be your first priority, your second priority and your third..."
~My Utmost for His Highest
Piper continues....
"I assume that this joy is not idolatrous—that is, I assume it does not terminate on the works themselves, but in and through them, rests on the glory of God himself. The works “declare” the glory of God. They point. But the final ground of our joy is God himself. (p.179)"
And further...
"We don’t just stand outside and analyze the natural world as a [sun]beam, but [look along to] let the beam fall on the eyes of our heart, so that we see the source of the beauty—the original Beauty, God himself. (p. 184)."
And lastly...
"All of God’s creation becomes a beam to be “looked along” or a sound to be “heard along” or a fragrance to be “smelled along” or a flavor to be “tasted along” or a touch to be “felt along.” All our senses become partners with the eyes of the heart in perceiving the glory of God through the physical world (p. 185)."
This little snippet does not do an iota of justice to the chapter nor the book. I encourage you to read it for yourself.

When I Don't Desire God by John Piper

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