My Good

We are told that "loving yourself" is learning what's best for you and doing it. I disagree in general, but if we understand "what's best for you" in reality, I would probably have to agree in principle. You see, what's best for you -- for you, for me, for any one of us, for each and every one of us -- is that we would be wholly and completely enraptured by God, thoroughly in love with Him, seeking nothing but His glory. Now, I try to be an honest person, so I have to admit that I have not yet arrived. But I want to.

The psalmist, Asaph, captures in Psalm 73 the deepest longing of my heart.

Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works. (Psa 73:25-28).

I want it, but I struggle with it. I desire things on earth -- the love of my wife, the warmth of friendship, even simple things like food and shelter. But I want to arrive at this point. The last sentence in particular contains the reality I want to embrace: "The nearness of God is my good."

That, dear Lord, is where I want to live.