If God is good, then you don’t have to look elsewhere

I was sitting on my patio a couple of days ago after I grilled out and I was “taking in” life as a contemplative might. My patio is one of the best places on earth. It is a place one would linger. It is surrounded by flowers that are all blooming now, herbs that I use daily in food and drink, and it offers a grand view of my small place on earth. To add to the glory of this place is the show that is the nightly ritual of the community of humming birds that live here. This is my small place where the restoration is an ever present reality and a back breaking endeavor.I have said often, “I can see the world from my patio.” It is true, the goodness of God is embedded and embodied in good earth, changing seasons, the bounty of fruits and vegetables, and the sounds and smells of life that is both real and satisfying. I often feel like the lines between the temporal and eternal are rather thin here because here in this small place, and the life it represents, I see, experience, and feel God’s presence - near. It heals my heart a bit and is like a blessed benediction.Here is the irony: all these good things that usually mediate God’s goodness - food, people, beauty, shelter, happy times, etc - these very things can also be the things that poison my soul and unmake me as a person. This Sunday we are going to talk about how good things become ultimate things. We are going to discuss how, because God made the world of created things so good, it is easy to start believing that in the things God made, and not God himself, we find our deep satisfaction. Hope you’ll join us.I can’t wait for you to see the church Sunday. It has been transformed into a basecamp. If you don’t know what means, well I can’t explain it, you will just have to see for yourself!Blessings,Jim