“…we make it our goal to please him…” (2 Corinthians 5:9)
Last Sunday, two of our Sunday Club boys turned up as Superheroes. One wore a Superman jumper and the other carried a plastic replica of Thor’s hammer. To the absolute delight of everyone standing around, both boys immediately greeted one another, and without hesitation and with the utmost seriousness, as “Superman” and “Thor” then ran around the church playing out their roles. Everyone smiled and laughed and joined in: and of course – none of us could lift Thor’s hammer and none of us could run faster than the speeding Superman. Both boys had immense fun. Both enjoyed playing up to their roles. And probably neither knew just how much pleasure their fun gave to everyone around them.
In a morning prayer time this week, my prayer partner and I read and shared around 2 Corinthians 5:9 and the thought of God taking pleasure and delight in His children. The Greek word for ‘please’ used in the text means “well-pleasing, agreeable to, acceptable to.” It reminded us of Eric Liddel’s famous line: “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. When I run, I feel His pleasure.” We thought together about the difference it might makes to our service of God if we thought less about simple compliance and obedience to His will, and more in terms of: “What could I say that would put a smile on God’s face? What could I do that would give God pleasure? What could I fill my life with that would absolutely delight Him?”
And I thought again of Blantyre’s own Thor and Superman.
So…Go: take a run and feel God’s pleasure; play a while and make God smile; take on the role of hero and rescuer, and sense God’s delight.