Post date: Sep 29, 2011 3:59:44 PM
Repost from 2011-03-29
Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of scoffers:
2 But his delight is in the law of Jehovah; And on his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water, That bringeth forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also doth not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
4 The wicked are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
5 Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For Jehovah knoweth the way of the righteous; But the way of the wicked shall perish.
I have been carefully considering the law. I want to take a moment to pour my heart out before readers.
The psalmist writes that there is a delight and an encouragement in meditating on the law of God. The more I delve into theology and study the Old Law, the more I realize that God is so much more than an experience. What has concerned me is the conversations I have had with people I care about. Their response to me is simply to state that theology and law are useless to the perishing. They tell me that those who perish need an experience with God more than anything. These same people tell me how little value the old law is because it no longer exists.
How could the psalmist write that the law is so beautiful? How is it that he treasured the law to meditate on it day and night?
Paul said that he did not know sin except that the law told him it was sin. Without God's law, what measure do we have? God set up a law, then left it for all of mankind. This law is more than ordinances. It provided the basic structure for living in peace with others. Don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t sleep around... pretty easy to follow. Preceding all of this was the command to love God first. The law puts a commandment to love and (by extension) get to know God.
Without deep study of the Bible, how can we say we know God? I liken the study of the Bible to learning about your significant other. I have experienced many things in the presence of my wife. I have been happy, sad, even wounded while she is near me. But, that does not mean that I have a relationship with her. I talk to her. I get to know her. I ask her things and she tells me about herself. What she's thinking and feeling. I hear stories from when she was a child and things that happened earlier in the day.
I believe theology is like the time I spend getting to know my wife. We get to hear more about what God has done. How the ancient things affect us today. What God has for us is repeated within those pages. God even declares to us things that have happened in times past and how to deal with them as they come up in our lives. Because God never changes, His word is still relevant today. It is us getting to know our God, Lord, creator, and friend.
I understand that there are many quarrellings about theology, especially when it comes to things we cannot know. My encouragement is for the faithful to seek to know God even more. Right theology puts God in the highest place. It elevates God in the life of the one who keeps that theology. I have seen many that put the will of man on par with God. People say things like God and I have it figured out. They reduce God to their buddy. But, even in a parable by Jesus, the King referred to the man as “friend”, yet when shown disrespect, threw the man into a great torment. Having proper theology gives us a lens through which scripture can be interpreted. And as we put God in the highest place, we will see more of the fullness of God on earth before we are brought into Heaven.