Light is sweet.

I’m reminded of this every summer.

The days I wake up and see a soft light permeating through my curtains are the days I jump out of bed instead of stumble. As sunshine pours out onto my skin like warm water, I soak it up like a sponge. I want to take in as much as possible.

As simple as it is, there is no denying the wholesome gift of an afternoon relaxing in the sun. It has a way of satisfying a physical need while simultaneously quenching our thirst for goodness. After all, it is often the simplest of delicacies that bring us the most joy.

I’ve recently become more aware of the innumerable gifts in my life. Simple blessings like getting to sleep in on Saturdays to complex graces like deeply forged friendships crafted over many years. I have much to be thankful for and many healthy avenues of enjoyment in my life.

In a hedonistic society however, I can be easily persuaded into seeing the good in my life as the meaning of my life. Maybe you can relate.

If you were to ask me a series of questions regarding many of the choices I make and why, eventually we’d get to the rock bottom motivation. Frequently, it is for my pleasure, comfort or joy.

It becomes easy to worship the good in life with this motivation. We can even fall in love with the means because they accomplish the goal of a hedonistic existence – worshipping yourself through a pursuit of pleasure.

It’s a fair question to ask why it shouldn’t be this way, as I’m sure you can sense I am implying. To this I would simply point out the temporal nature of our own pleasure and the instability of our circumstances. Not to mention the natural consequences of living solely for pleasure.

No matter how good something is, it eventually will end. If you’ve based your entire life on having that thing, then your life concludes when it disappears.

Ironically, in our “pursuit of happiness,” we’ll always be in the trailing position in accordance with the defintion of the word “pursuit.” Even when we catch up to what we thought a mile back was the finish line, we see another ten miles in front of us. Then, another.

Joy and good gifts in our lives aren’t enough. Despite our intimate knowledge of this evidenced by the discontentment found in the heart of man, our gaze seldom rises from the gifts to the Giver of the gifts.

According to scripture, everyone is a recipient of God’s goodness. Christian or not. Our very breath comes from him, yet it is often the very breath we use to quickly dismiss the idea that such a God exists. Many worship the good things God has created instead of Him who created them.

As I’ve thought more about the good gifts I’ve received from my Father in Heaven, I can get caught up in the moment and forget that He has gifted me Himself in the person of Jesus Christ.

Filled with sin that true justice demanded be punished, God gifted me a stand-in to take my place. The righteous retribution for my sin was taken by Jesus. I went from being Hell-bound to a saint. Not by a work of my own, but by Jesus’ perfect life.

A gift you can’t repay trumps all others. That’s when you know it’s out of pure love. The same is true with God’s gift to mankind in Jesus.

Temporary gifts that bring us joy are good. But we were meant for more. We were meant for the ultimate gift and the radiant light from the Son.