God Is Lovely

In our first two modules together, we've had honest conversations about what it means for God to be our First Love.

We've emphasized that God is not our First Love because we are good, intelligent people who made him a deal he couldn't resist. No, we were lost and confused. God is incomprehensible to us, yet he has revealed himself through his Word, through the Incarnation of Jesus, and by the Holy Spirit.

We are neither surrendering to despair nor pridefully mastering some theological truths.

The point of the first two modules was to awaken our curiosity, deepen our gratitude, and move our hearts to worship and adore our First Love.

This week we're going to consider that God is not just our First Love, but God is lovely. If God's incomprehensibility humbles our minds, then God's loveliness is what melts our hearts.

But you might say, "Why do we need to consider if God is lovely? Isn't this obvious?"

Let's imagine a husband who is married to a beautiful, godly, intelligent, amazing woman. Yet every night he goes out to a different bar to try to pick up a new woman. If he's out every night of the week, can he love his wife? His behavior says to his wife, "You are not lovely." His affairs will destroy the relationship and any possibility that he knows or understands his wife.

In the same way, while we might "check the box" and affirm that God is lovely, we need to reckon with our actual behavior - the idolatry of our hearts - if we are going to know God well.

There's a huge difference between getting an A on a theology quiz and aligning our hearts to consistently pursue God.

Likewise, if we don't take our idolatry seriously, then we won't recognize the distortions we have in our perception of God. This is because the Bible teaches a tough truth: worshipping idols is not a neutral activity. Unfortunately, the habit of idolatry shapes us into blind fools. And because we all have our favorite idols, we all have a lot to unlearn - and a lot to learn.

Our First Love, you teach us through your servant Paul in the book of Philippians, to think about whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, and whatever is commendable. And God, we cannot think of anything with more excellence, anything more worthy of praise, than you. Triune God of love, we ask that today you would open our hearts and minds to know you, to love you, and to worship you. In Christ's name, Amen.

For the next week, keep a daily journal where you write down moments, attributes, or scripture that reveal Christ's loveliness to you. At the end of each entry, spend a few minutes in prayer, rejoicing in these revelations of Christ and asking God to help you treasure Him above all else.