“Thank You for the innocence of life, Father.”

That was the prayer I whispered earlier this morning as I walked from the parking lot to my office. Young parents were dropping off their young children at our Sunbeams Day School, when I noticed one mother walking with two children. She was holding the hand of the youngest and he was talking excitedly in that sweet, beautiful voice that all preschool children have.

I paused to reflect on the innocence of life…innocence and beauty that often gets lost in the tragic ugliness that is also part of life in the sinful here and now. The noise and pain of all that is wrong often causes us to ignore what is right and good and wonderful.

Reflection is a gift from God…a gift that blesses us richly when we take time to reflect. Thus being too busy to retreat and be alone with God robs us of blessings. Being too busy to meditate on the things of God steals blessings God has for us. Being too busy to notice what is good in this world…and all good is from God…cheats us of a life worth living.

Genesis 1:31 reads, “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” Sin has distorted God’s good creation. Yet if we pause long enough to look, the good still shows through. Seeing the good and reflecting on it is a rewarding experience. It also honors the Creator and moves us to give Him praise and thanks.

Pastor Steve Hogg