Flourishing by Delighting
- Aug 31, 2015
- 2 min read
It's almost midnight as I write, my imagination thoroughly captivated by this amazing thought: "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly... But his delight is in the law of the Lord." As I meditate on Psalm 1–the Psalm which acts essentially as a thesis statement for the entire book of Psalms–I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the Lord.
The first section of the Psalm makes a lot of common sense; if you act like the ungodly and wicked, life will always be filled with senseless pain, regret, and brokenness–in essence, self-destruction. Most people, Christian or otherwise, recognize that living a life filled with lying, violence, jealousy, and hate will, at some point, inevitably lead to inner turmoil, destructive habits, and sad endings (think Kurt Cobain, Charles Manson, Adolf Hitler, and Judas Iscariot, to list a few examples). Unfortunately, although most people recognize this, they do little or nothing to avoid the snares of destructive temptations because of the unfulfilled longing that they have deep within them. Many people have not tasted the all-satisfying love of the Father, and so, try to quench their spiritual thirst with anything that gives them an immediate sense of reprieve from their soul's painful groaning.
But here's what's so amazing about Psalm 1: the life that flourishes–the life of righteousness, holiness, and goodness–is the life of delight! The psalmist doesn't declare that the boring and legalistic life will cause a person to flourish, but rather, the life of the person who delights in God's law will be abundant, exciting, and joyful. You see, we often miss the fact that God's commands are meant to teach us to live the life we were created to live. In other words, living a righteous life is to live as a genuine, true, fulfilled human being.
A life entrenched in sin is like a painter using sludge to create a monochromatic mess on their canvas–simple muck devoid of all beauty. But God's commands teach us to paint with all the brilliant colors of heavenly realities, restoring the image and likeness of God that was sewn into us when we were first created. A hand-crafted guitar will sound like cheap plastic if it isn't tuned and maintained. But the life that is in tune with its Creator's design–the life that delights in God's law–will create the alluring melodies of joy, fulfillment, and peace.
What could be more delightful than that?
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