I have missed this lately.  Well, for quite some time now.

But God built this world, his creation, and all that is in it with JOY.  It was his joy to build this life.

On what were its bases sunk,
    or who laid its cornerstone,
when the morning stars sang together
    and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Creating something is for joy.  A builder builds, a musician composes, an artist paints, an athlete competes and more for the purpose of the joy of it all.

When we are outside, we do indeed see the beauty and complexity and joy of God’s handiwork.  There is color and life and harmony and variety.  When we see pictures of places all over the world we see beyond what our eyes could have imagined and life and worlds different than our own.

It is a great privilege that we as humans are called to live in this beautiful house he built, a house he built with joy.  Joy was it’s purpose.

Yes, it has been tainted.  It has been mishandled by all of us in the world who were given authority to steward his house (Gen 1-2).  It has been a problem that we created a world where sin and rebellion have reigned against the builder (Gen 3).  But God, in his extraordinary kindness, has given us a way to be forgiven and restored.

It’s easy to focus on the evil.  That takes no effort at all.  But let’s remember this day, this beautiful day, that this earth was His joy, and that joy was something He gave to us.