[When the world began] I was the craftsman at [the LORD's] side.  I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind (Proverbs 8:30-31).

Delight is a delectable word.  It sounds like it feels:  bright, buoyant, shimmering, shuffle-footed happiness.  Delight.  It's like driving through the countryside with a full tank of gas in the car, windows rolled down, the wind playing with your hair, your favorite song on the radio, and a kiss from the love-of-your-life still evaporating from your lips.  It feels good to be filled with delight -- dancing through the world with a perpetual sense of rejoicing.

It would appear that we actually inherited this affinity for delight from God Himself -- that such joy is even an expression of divine Wisdom!  Truthfully, that's not my standard mental image of God:  smiling, laughing, singing at the top of His lungs, and beating His hands on the steering wheel of the Universe as if it were His own personal drum kit.  More often, I think of God -- and God's Wisdom -- as being very sober, even somber.  I can see Him getting angry or disappointed or serious at times; those mental images are not difficult to conjure up.  But the joy and delight thing is often buried beneath layers of misunderstanding and my personal issues.  Here in Proverbs chapter 8, however, there's a beautiful description of the delight that was foundational to the formation of our world.  Wisdom (who, as previously noted, may also be personified and paralelled in Jesus) rejoicing in God the Creator... God the Creator rejoicing in Wisdom (Jesus)... God the Creator and Wisdom (Jesus) rejoicing in Mankind... and presumably, Mankind rejoicing in God the Creator and Wisdom.  It was one big love-fest, back at the beginning of time.  It was an experience of pure delight.

So I'm challenged to bring more of this joy back into the world -- back into my relationship with God.  For whatever reason, we can accidentally shy away from delighting in the LORD, focusing too much on serving, sacrificing, doing our duty, and completing our mission.  But I want to go back tot eh world's original mode of operation -- delight -- as much as I can.  The world needs a lot more joy and delight... Or at least I know that I do.