J.I. Packer changed my life in 1993, when the second edition of Knowing God came out. It was one of the first solidly theological books I had read as a Church Music major in college.

In this article from Christianity Today, Packer talks on how the book of Ecclesiastes helped move him from cynic to joy based on that book’s theology.  Here are the last two paragraphs of the article.  I do hope you’ll read the rest.

How then should we finally formulate the theology of joy that runs through and undergirds the entire book? Christian rejoicing in Christ and in salvation, as the New Testament depicts, goes further. But in celebrating joy as God’s kindly gift, and in recognizing the potential for joy of everyday activities and relationships, Ecclesiastes lays the right foundation.

Being too proud to enjoy the enjoyable is a very ugly shortcoming, and one that calls for immediate correction. Let it be acknowledged that, as I had to learn long ago, discovering how under God ordinary things can bring joy is the cure for cynicism.

via J.I. Packer: How I Learned to Live Joyfully | Christianity Today.