Having a good time

The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone" (Genesis 2:18).

When you think of kicking back and having fun, do you picture doing things alone or with others? Christmas celebrations emphasize time with family and close friends. Advertisements for cruise ships always show group events or romantic twosomes. When we think of summer recreation, we think of ball games, people at the beach, or friends backpacking. Most people prefer to share their moments of fun with at least one other person; it is a truly rare individual who likes to be by themselves the majority of the time. When we think of having fun, we generally think of having fun with someone.

Do you think of God as someone you enjoy spending time with? Is Jesus someone who you think of when you are having fun? Or is this a surprising thought? It shouldn’t be. We were created by God in His image. We smile because God wanted to see us smile. We can laugh because God gives us the gift of a sense of humor. We enjoy hugging and being hugged because the Father, Son and Holy Spirit value the warmth of close, personal relationships.

God created humans to enjoy time with Him and with each other. God gave Moses the Ten Commandments in order to teach men and women how to be good company. Think about it: reject anything that is evil, respect God, set aside time for God regularly to get to know Him better, don’t be disrespectful of others, don’t cause injury, don’t steal, don’t interfere with another person’s marriage, don’t tell lies, don’t be jealous or motivated by money—if we behaved like this consistently, everyone would love spending time with us! God wants us to enjoy our time with Him and with each other.

Sin is what drives wedges between people. Acting selfishly, being miserly with our time and resources, speaking our negative thoughts impulsively--these create walls of distrust and resentment between people, just as our sins build a barrier between us and God. This is why Jesus came to die for us; His death on our behalf allows us to be forgiven, and tears down the wall of sin that separates us from God and each other. Jesus suffered and died for us because He loves spending time with us, and He wants His time with us to last beyond our deaths forever.