Your Favorite Things Are Good…But God Is Better

Raindrops on roses, and whispers on kittens. These are not a few of my favorite things, but I’ve got a rolling list of my own.

Savory food. Sweet food. Delicious food that makes my mouth water and my taste buds dance.

A pinky-orange sunset, woven through with creamy clouds, so it looks like tie-die in the sky.

My husband’s silliness, the way he makes me laugh. His comforting words after a long, difficult day at work. His caresses and the way he holds my hand, the safety I feel in his arms. His prayers. His love.

The joy of friendship, the embrace of someone I deeply trust, someone I admire, someone I learn from, someone who reminds me of what is true.

The sweet, lingering scent of a burning fire in a neighbor’s backyard, as the soft breeze blows during an evening walk through our streets.

Finally, music, beautiful music. A melody so compelling, so enrapturing, that I am temporarily carried away by its epic sound and exalted to heaven by the richness of the lyrics.

My favorite things are good, but God is infinitely better. They are mere pointers proclaiming his excellence. His beauty. His creativity. His love. His glory.

All things were created for our enjoyment because all things were meant to point to God, to cause us to ponder the greater greatness of the Creator.

Still, we have made good things ultimate things, expecting them to come through for us, disappointed when they disappoint.

I love what worship pastor and author Matt Papa says in his book Look and Live: “Worship, true worship, looks through [the world] in amazement. To its source. To the One who is infinitely more amazing” (138).

Take a moment. Pinpoint some of your favorite things in this world. Realize that these delights were never meant to be an end in themselves but pointers to our Eternal Delight.

Taste your favorite, delectable meal…and worship the Bread of Life.

Hear the lulls of a favorite tune…and praise the One who put a new song in your heart when he made you a new creation in Christ.

Laugh with your loved ones, experience their embrace, approach God in prayer together…and think about the day you will see the Father perfectly, face-to-face, fully, as you are fully known.

Love the good things, delight in them, but don’t stop there. Look into them, to their Source.

Look beyond, and worship the One who made all good things, the One who is better by far. The One who is exceedingly glorious.