The Big Chill: Delight

“The Sabbath is the link between the paradise which has passed away and the paradise which is yet to come.” Andrew Wylie

There is a scene in The Big Chill where Sarah (Glenn Close) and her husband, Harold, (Kevin Kline) are in the kitchen chatting with their best friend, Meg (Mary Kay Place). Harold is on the phone with their young daughter, Molly. Toward the end of the conversation Molly apparently asks Harold to hand the phone off, and as he does, the mom, Sarah, steps forward, assuming Molly wants to talk to her.

But it is Meg she wants to talk to. As Meg takes the phone her face lights up and a big, warm smile comes over her. We can sense the same smile from Molly. The conversation is precious, absolutely precious. It is obvious the two love each other, and have such a special place in each other’s lives.

Pure joy. They … delight in each other.

God gives us two insights into this kind of delight, and the promises linked to these delights are nothing short of overwhelming.

He promises if you will delight in him, he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

And, he wants you to delight in his Sabbath gift to you.  (Isaiah 58:13-14) The promise is a life permeated with joy, fullness, energy, clarity, creativity, power … nothing short of the A+ Life that is truly life.

Delight in the Sabbath? How to do this, when most of us consider the Sabbath commandment a meddling restriction on our freedom to do whatever we want, whenever we want?

The answer is found in our bond with the Lord. We must first find our delight in the Lord, before we’ll ever find his Sabbath to be a delight.

Do you have someone in your life who is a pure delight?

Grandchildren are a pure delight. Or maybe you have a grandparent like this. Or someone special to you, in a most special way. Now picture a day celebrating them. Your granddaughter’s birthday; your grandfather’s 80^th birthday. Or even your wedding anniversary.

This day is a celebration, a delight, not because of the day, but because of the person in whom you take such delight. Your delight in them overflows across the day, making it a delight in itself. But only because your wife, or husband, or grandchild or friend is such a delight to you.

My daughter and I go to New York once a year. The trip is a pure delight for me. I’ve been to New York without her many times and I always enjoy myself. But it is only a delight when I go with Britton. New York City is not the delight; it’s the person with me in whom I delight. 

Could this be what God wants for us, and our Sabbaths? Could he want for us to so delight in him, we naturally delight in his day?

A friend who is a pure delight would be someone with whom you feel totally safe, with no judging, no negative. They would have no hidden agendas. Transparency comes easily, and you can laugh at yourselves with each other. You both know what is important to the other, and so it’s important to you.

Fun, and positive, and a pure joy is how you feel about this relationship.

Your children know this person is a delight to you, and so they share in your delight: like Meg and Molly.

Now ponder this: do you feel this way about Jesus? When you think of Jesus do you think, “What a great guy; I can’t believe my good fortune having him in my life? He is all positive, always supporting me, never condemning me.

“He’s always on my side – always for me, with me, and before me. And he’s fun to be with! Jesus is a … delight to me.”

You can have this. This is real, and this is obtainable. Yes, you can actually live this.  Jesus can be a positive delight in your life.

It is the key to the true richness of the Kingdom, and it is the key to a rich Sabbath life.

If You Want a Little More:

Think about this: Is there any chance your children, or those close to you, would ever sense a Big Chill, Meg and Molly bond of delight, when you talk about Jesus?

Oh my. Imagine if they did.  Imagine the generational influence.

“I don’t know who Dad is talking to, but I can tell he’s talking about the Lord, because he’s in such a delightful mood.”

As you see Jesus for the delight he absolutely is, you will see his Father for the delight he truly is, and you will be on the path to delighting in his Sabbath.

———————————————–

Isaiah 58:13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
¹⁴ then you will find your joy in the Lord,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.