Today in my devotions I was reading Psalm 16. I don’t know why. It was a mistake. I should have been reading Acts 16 and Psalm 21 as a part of Reading with the Pastor. But somehow I went to Psalm 16 first. I’m glad I did.
The second verse reminded me of the greatness of the body of Christ.
As for the saints who are on the earth,
They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.
Two passages immediately came to mind but of course, I had to look them up in my concordance to find out where they were, Matthew 25:35-40 and 1 Corinthians 1:26-29.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
(Matthew 25:35-40)26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that no man may boast before God.
(1 Corinthians 1:26-29)
It is stunning to think that God calls His followers,
Beloved, Saints, Holy Ones, and Majestic
Do you ever think of yourself in such lofty terms? Even better and more to the point, . . .
Do you ever think of your fellow believers in Christ this way?
Too often, I don’t. And that’s why I need to read the Word of the Living God to draw me back into truth and appreciation of all that He is doing in us, among us, and through us.
Another offering for The Poetry Project.
The Holy Ones
All those losers like me that You have rescued,
All those lost links in humanity’s devolution from perfection,
All those lonely people sung about in songs,
All those greedy, power-hungry manipulators,
All those overweight, undernourished sacks of skin,
longing for more and not seeking more’s Source,
All those complaining sorts who never make a mistake, never fail themselves,
All those narcissistic, self-satisfied punks who always think of themselves first,
All those faithless promisers who promised so big and delivered so little,
All those loveless lovers who left,
All those broken people who turned and broke others
All those losers that You made winners.
All these wrecked and dysfunctional people you made trophies of Grace
All these rising from the ashes people becoming new creatures in Christ
All these sitting with the lonely
and nourishing the weak
and humbly offering help
and choosing to suffer so others won’t
and being faithful silently
and loving the unlovely
and mending the broken
All these refugees from the clutches of sin
that You have made Yours
that You have made mighty.
These are the one in whom I delight,
Because they all remind me of You!
Go to Psalm 17
Another reflection on Psalm 16
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