On the 4th of July, our family enjoyed an evening on the riverfront and a front row seat to a phenomenal display of fireworks. Last year we viewed fireworks at Mt Rushmore on the 4th and to my surprise, little ol’ Peoria may very well have matched if not exceeded Mt Rushmore. There was one firework in particular that was fired off several times that literally filled the sky. It set off golden sparkle trails that looked like a giant weeping willow tree. It was literally breathtaking. And those in combination with many others provided a sense of wonderment and gratitude. As I set there I couldn’t help but think that all of this was totally unnecessary. We don’t really NEED fireworks displays. But what a joy to have them. In some regards it was a total waste of money, but how much joy and satisfaction did it provide for those who were there? For 30 minutes or so, I suspended my “practical” brain thinking and just enjoyed the moment along with the rest of my family and many others from church.
As I set there with these thoughts passing through my mind, I was reminded of a phrase that I once read several years ago in a book written by John Eldredge, “The Journey of Desire“. The phrase is the title of this post… GLORIOUSLY WASTEFUL!
I remember the first time I read the term, I was struck by the depth of it. It would seem that Eldredge is not the first to use the phrase. It may have originated with the poem, Diary of an Old Soul, by George MacDonald. But regardless of where the term originated, I am captivated by it. What a compelling picture of God. God loves us so much, that he is willing to lavish on us in a gloriously wasteful way. What does that mean? Let’s think about some of the ways God lavishes on us unnecessarily…
- Beautiful sunset after beautiful sunset
- An explosion of a rainbow of colors and a 1000 shades of green every spring
- The breathtaking beauty of fall
- Thousands of varieties of birds, fish and animals of every imagination
- Smells that arouse and delight your senses
None of these things are “necessary”, and yet God loves us so much he gives them to us to enjoy and be reminded of his goodness. In Eldredge’s book, he shares an email from a friend that sums this up beautifully:
“We’ve had a couple of inspiring sunsets this week. It was as if the seams of our atmosphere split for a bit of heaven to plunge into the sea. I stood and applauded…simultaneously I wanted to kneel and weep.”
Ever had those moments? You have if you’ve ever stopped to pay attention to how God lavishes on us. And it’s all designed to bring us joy while moving us closer to him. I am thankful beyond the ability of words to convey that God is such a God. In closing, I thought I would share some pictures that go far beyond my words to describe all of this… Enjoy!
Why not take a moment to share when you’ve been struck by God being “Gloriously Wasteful”.
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