Monday, October 22, 2012

THE THING THAT IS BETTER THAN LIFE

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You. I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise You.

On my bed I remember You; I think of You through the watches of the night. Because You are my help, I sing in the shadow of Your wings. I cling to You; Your right hand upholds me.

Those who want to kill me will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth. They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals.

But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God will glory in Him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

Psalm 63:3-11

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Raise your hand if you think life is valuable. I think most everyone has their hand up unless you would rather be dead, and I pray no one is feeling that way out there.

Just the mere fact that I am writing this for you to read is a testament to how much we appreciate life and the opportunity to live and experience what it brings. I give thanks for the opportunity to share what God places on my heart each day and I pray you are grateful to be able to receive it by reading The Christian Walk daily.

It’s life that draws us into relationship with others and, in particular, grants us a family to be a part of. And in life, we are exposed to the glory and majesty of God’s creation. It’s in everything we see.

It’s life that allows us to work and make a living, hopefully being able to establish a home and a comfortable quality of living complete with fulfilling our dreams and successfully making it to the point of retirement.

Yes, life is what it’s all about, right? Well, almost. For as we look at the remainder of the 63rd Psalm, we find out in God’s word that there is something even better than life itself. Look at this passage:

Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You. I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise You.

On my bed I remember You; I think of You through the watches of the night. Because You are my help, I sing in the shadow of Your wings. I cling to You; Your right hand upholds me.

Those who want to kill me will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth. They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals.

But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God will glory in Him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

What is better than life? The answer is God’s love.

It was God’s love that created us. It is God’s love that sustains us. And it is God’s love, as well as His grace and mercy, that offers us a life beyond our earthly one, a life eternal through belief and trust in His Son Jesus, our Savior. This is validated by the well-known words of John 3:16:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

God’s love isn’t just in the past or present but it will forever be with us, in this life and in the next.

You see life is a by-product of God’s love. Life doesn’t lead to His love. His love leads to life. And when we realize this, we will respond in the following ways described in the psalm:

1. We will praise God with lifted hands.

2. Our lips will testify about God’s goodness and sing songs of gratitude and thanksgiving.

3. We will find our deepest needs satisfied, our souls filled with the richest of foods which is God’s love.

In the end, when we think of God and consider the awesome depth and magnitude of His love, we can’t help but come to a place of peace and comfort whether awake or at rest as our lives are defined by the thanksgiving and praise and reciprocal love we have for the One who loves us so very much.  

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to
ourchristianwalk@aol.com

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