Getting high on God

I've just read the last verse of the first letter of John - "Precious children, don't get high on anything but God". This is how Rob Lacey puts it in his Street Bible. It may be a very loose translation of the NIV "Dear children, keep yourself from idols", but something about it hit home.

I have no fears on one score. I don't get high on non-God things. My trouble is that I don't get high on God either. I just don't get high full stop. I'm happy enough. I enjoy life. In fact I have a really good life for which I am jolly grateful. But where's the buzz? Where are those moments of being caught up into seventh heaven which I recall from my youth?

Perhaps it's just middle-age. Perhaps it's having settled into a routine with no major challenges or expectations. Perhaps I'm making a fuss about nothing. Yes, that seems the most likely. Now I think of it there are still moments when I'm swept away by the beauty of creation, or the marvels of science, or the intimacy of a loving wife - and all these things are gifts of God. Perhaps my whole life is lived so far above sea level that being on a high is relatively normal for me. Now that the mists have cleared, I think I can see a few peaks ahead of me even on today's journey let alone further in the future. Onwards and upwards!

• OUTCOME: No moments of intense joy but plenty of warm satisfaction. Being able to listen to a colleague share his troubles gave me the sense of being in the right place at the right time. It also underlined my gratitude for God's many blessings.