...and EVERYTHING in it!

 

Thursday, July 8, 2021

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.  The world and all its people belong to him.  For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths.  Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?  Who may stand in his holy place?  Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies.  They will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior.  Such people may seek you and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob.  Psalm 24:1-6

According to King David’s Psalm, there are only two possibilities when it comes to a right relationship with God;  You’re either blessed and IN a right relationship with God, or you’re not.  According to David, the dividing line is bowing to the first two sentences; hear them again:  The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.  The world and all its people belong to him.  

In an increasingly pluralistic world it may sound strange to hear such dogmatic utterance…and that may explain the reason why church attendance is waning like the last embers of a fire before it goes out.  Church doctrine and preachers who leave little wiggle-room on letting people choose other than the check-boxes of saved or lost, are written off as antiquated, obtuse, or just not ‘woke’.  Popular opinion demands choices, but God isn’t into popular opinion.  Poet/Rock Star Bob Dylan sang the famous lines in his ‘70’s hit Gotta Serve Somebody:

The bottom line is God is Creator, and that means the keys to everything He created are hanging on His key chain – the earth, and everything in it!

The soul, or core of David’s Psalm is an invitation to enter-into that right relationship with God.  That tells us the most important thing we can dwell on today:   Having a right relationship with God is more than saving the planet He created, or being woke, or rituals, or your bank account.  It’s knowing that a right relationship is possible with God, and God wants it with you as passionately as you want your next breath of life.  Even more!

And while many are willing to bow in the direction of God as some benevolent force who created stuff; more of humankind than not prefer to leave it at that.  It is something of an ok…you gave us a start…we’ll take over now approach.  They want the benefit of 70 or 80, maybe 95 years of life, grabbing for the brass ring, and a little fame, along with their pleasures, but the idea of a relationship which includes all that other stuff of which King David wrote, notably clean hands and heart, telling truth and living truth…well, that’s not for me, so I’ll see you later.  Bob Dylan was never a favorite of mine, but he definitely got that one thought right…everyone who draws breath belongs to the Lord…He is Creator AND Judge.

So, what does it take to be IN a right relationship with He who created us?  If you pick apart the finer points of David’s Psalm (and, by the way, all the rest of Holy Scripture), you’ll find only two things, wanting that relationship, and willing to let go of everything you’ve decided you want more than having that relationship. 

To boil the pot down a little more, it’s a matter of wanting God more than your next breath.  It is bowing-down in humility to the fact that God is indeed Creator, and owns everything, even you.  No wiggle-room; no exceptions!

For You Today

The soul, or core of David’s Psalm is an invitation to enter-into that right relationship with God.  That tells us the most important thing we can dwell on today:   Having a right relationship with God is more than saving the planet He created, or being woke, or rituals, or your bank account.  It’s knowing that a right relationship is possible with God, and God wants it with you as passionately as you want your next breath of life.  Even more!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!   

[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©    Other images by Pixabay.com