Delight in Him the Giver of Life (Psalm 1)

Blessed in the one

who does not walk in step with the wicked

or stand in the way that sinners take

or sit in the company of mockers,

but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,

and who meditates on his law day and night.

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither - 

whatever they do prospers.

Not so the wicked!

The are like chaff that the wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Psalm 1.  The first of hundreds of songs written by David.  It seems so black and white.  You are either on one side or the other.  Those who delight in the Lord will find His redemptive grace.  Those who delight in wickedness will not.  On paper, I have no problem with that.  I have no disagreement.  Those who walk with those who are wise in the Lord - whom have too produced fruits of righteous and know the goodness of our God - will remain encouraged and more steadfast to His ways.  He is like a tree that is constantly being fed by streams of living water that make for a faithful tree, producing fruit when it is expected, in season with His law.  And yet, I am still very much a sinner and feel like a tree far away from His streams. 

What does His law mean?  If you have been raised in the church, you know that to mean His written Old Testament law - the Torah.  If you aren't familiar with this, these are the rules and precepts established for the people of Israel, God's chosen people, to understand His ways.  But these rules weren't mean to dictate and rule over them like an oppressor rules over a conquered people.  He loved His people and considered Israel to be His bride.  Don't believe me?  Read Jeremiah 3:8.  God's been divorced.  He divorces Israel because of her gross and continued unfaithfulness to Him.  Yet, He is still loving and it is evident in His long suffering and saving power each time they fell into a muddy, boggy pit of their selfishness and nearly caused for their complete destruction.  His love allowed them to experience their own choices that led to suffering and He always remained faithful to return.  

So, I know God still loves, because He still sent His son hundreds of years later to redeem not only His lost bride, but also all people - non Jewish - back to Him.

So, what does this 'law' mean today?  In many ways, it is still the same law of the Old Testament; however, this law never meant to dictate.  It truly desires to teach us about His character in the hope that we will desire Him more and more as we get to know our God.  His law also is not limited to words in a Holy book.  His law, His character, His heart is evident all around us.  We experience seasons in real life, in the natural world.  We experience truth in real life.  We experience His love in real life.  While this world is broken immensely by sin, His law never ceases to exist and He is still very evident in the fabric of His creation.

I want to be a tree planted by streams of water that never cease to flow and water my roots.  But I know, in my heart, I carry seeds of wickedness with me...daily.  These seeds long to be watered too by selfish desires and they want to take root.

This image comes to mind:  

Imagine you drive by a home with a lush, green lawn.  You slow down and stop just to admire the beauty of it.  It's not only beautiful because it looks picturesque, but you see future uses of its enjoyment:  picnics, yard games, taking walks around the property barefooted, and more.  The green space offers present and future enjoyment.  It is simply beautiful.  And then you wish that yard was yours.  How do they keep it so green and full? you ask.  Well, you'd have to mingle with the homeowner and find out.  He certainly knows how, where, or who to go to that will make his yard shine.  He may tell you that his lawn has scheduled watering from the underground sprinkling.  His yard receives bi-weekly treatments of fertilizer and weed killer.  The yard is cut to a certain length to maintain good growth and color.

Then you drive a couple houses down from this home and find a lawn that looks like its life has been sapped from it.  Bits of grass are found in random spots across the property; however, one thing you will always find in yards like this is...the presence of weeds.  They don't need water like a healthy lawn does.  They feed off any moisture and have the ability to withstand long periods of mismanagement.  In fact, they thrive in this mismanagement.  I know my life, when not watered and managed well, will allow those seeds wickedness to sprout and take over my life's lawn.

There are countless parallels for walking with the wise and delighting in God's ways to walking in the company of the wicked and desiring their ways.  But, in this example, I know that I need to constantly water myself with His Word, the wise counsel of those whom have gone before me, and to allow God - many times through the wise - to help weed out those things that are not God honoring, to be humble enough, submissive enough, to let God work through them.

In the end, my hope is that my life will be a glorious green space, not for my glory... but for His.  If I die to myself daily and clothe myself in Him, yes, people will see me physically, but it should be the face of my God that they see in me...which removes all the glory and credit from me and brings glory back to the creator, the potter, the shaper of my life.

With great humility, God, I ask that you would teach me how to delight in your ways all the days of my life.  In that, may others see you through me.