"I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me." (Psa. 63:2-8)
When we speak of learning God's wisdom and having the mind of Christ, it often sounds like we're sitting in a sterile classroom environment. We assume that we're being mentally trained in a new way of life. We are, but it's not in a cold, calculated transfer of information; it's a warm, wonderful learning experience, a hand-in-hand adventure with a loving Father who wants us to be like Him.
With God, familiarity does not breed contempt. It breeds passion and pleasure. We can dispense with the idea that we serve a cold, hard master. We can let go of the image of the ever-unsatisfied holiness of our Creator. He has satisfied His holy requirements Himself in the person of Jesus. What's left for us is an affectionate Father who laughs when we laugh and cries when we cry. The more we get to know Him, the more we come to love Him. It is, of course, a holy and respectful kind of love - He is entirely above us and worthy of our awe. But there is a warmth to Him that many people never feel. And we are called to feel it deeply.
How would we characterize our individual relationships with God? Cold and sterile? Distant and frustrating? It need not be any of these. It can actually be - dare I suggest it? - fun.
Yes, the wisdom of God - His mind, His ways, His character - can be beautiful and charming. He is not the cruel killjoy we often make Him out to be. And that's the great tragedy of sin: It fails to understand the amazing implications of knowing Him. It turns Him into someone He's not.
Learning the wisdom of God is not just an intellectual pursuit. It is a heartfelt pleasure in His personality. The presence of the Almighty can be an emotionally satisfying affection. His character is lovely, His words are charming. Abandon the image of the stern, distant God. His wrath toward us, though entirely legitimate, was poured out on Jesus. It has been fully satisfied. Our only response is to be fully satisfied in Him.
"We never better enjoy ourselves than when we most enjoy God." - Benjamin Whichcote
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