When Was the Last Time That You Were Really Enjoying Your Life?

Think about this: When was the last time you actually remember laughing, having fun and enjoying a moment of your life?   As cliché as it sounds- when was the last time you stopped and smelled the roses? Take a second and think about it. What is the purpose of a rose, carnation, or wisteria having such an aromatic scent? These flowers don’t have to smell pleasant in order to help bees pollinate.   Or maybe for the guys out there- when was the last time you enjoyed that philly cheese steak, pastrami burger, or seasoned lamb chop (some of us have high class)? Food doesn’t have to taste good in order to provide nutrients. Case and point- have you tried pickled beets?   It occurred to me the other day, as I was at church reflecting on the character of God, why scents, tastes, and even colors have saturated our world. Maybe the “big-bad-disciplinarian” of a god, we often paint ours to be is less like the teacher from Charlie Brown and more like Richard Dreyfuss in Mr. Holland Opus (not the best analogy, but you get the point).   Simmons: "I think the problem is we don’t take the time to recognize all that God has planted in the world around us." (Photo: Roxana Gonzalez, iStockphoto/ Thinkstock) Maybe the God Who we often think puts us through battles, has us climb mountains, and run laps is the same God who wants us to visually and aromatically enjoy beauty.   Why else would he make a cinnamon smell so sweet or a chocolate cosmos so “vanilla-y” (didn’t know there was a flower called that)?  

I think the problem is we don’t take the time to recognize all that God has planted in the world around us. We become consumed with our time, our schedule, our progress, and our life that we close our eyes and plug our nostrils. So much so that we think God has made us to suffer through life... But God created; He took time to infuse beauty with scent and sustenance with taste.

 

But, why are we so out of tune with the world around us?

  Colossians 1:16 “Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made things we can see and the things we can’t see- kings, kingdoms, rulers and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him.” If everything was created through Him and for Him, including scents and tastes (which serve no other function than pleasure), then maybe he wants to enjoy.   If we are created in the image of God, then maybe, just maybe the fact that you love the taste of those chocolate croissants or bacon cheeseburgers isn’t a mistake.