New Morning Mercies #363

Even pleasure preaches grace. Every day we all experience a symphony of pleasures we never could’ve earned the right to enjoy.

These are some of God’s pleasant gifts to us:

• the sound of the birds in the spring
• the delicate beauty of a rose
• the multihued display of a sunset
• the pristine blanket of new-fallen snow
• the tenderness of a kiss
• the smell of flowers in bloom
• the wide variety of tastes and textures of food
• the glory of a wonderful piece of music
• the bright colors of leaves in the fall
• the enjoyment of a great drama
• the wonder of a master’s painting
• the sweet voice of a child
• the stunning grandeur of a mountain

God created for us a world of amazing beauty where pleasures exist all around us. He created us with pleasure gates (eyes, ears, mouths, noses, hands, brains, and so on) so that we could take in the pleasure. He blesses us with these good and beautiful things every day. That means that on your very worst day and on your very best day, you are blessed with pleasures that come right from the hand of God. That tells you that you don’t get these pleasures because you’ve earned or deserved them, but because he is a God of grace. He graces you with good things because he is good, not because you are.

Perhaps it’s just a really good sandwich at lunch. You don’t deserve the pleasure of that sandwich. You don’t deserve a tongue that can take in its tastes and textures. You don’t deserve a brain that can make sense of the whole experience. It is just another gift from the hands of God, who daily bestows on you what you do not deserve because he loves you. Maybe you look out your window and see that the leaves on your tree have turned fire red. The sight takes your breath away. Stop and be thankful that the God of amazing grace created that tree and your ability to see, understand, and enjoy it. He chose you to experience its pleasure at that moment because he is the God of tender, patient grace: “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt. 5:45).

For further study and encouragement: Psalm 104