Eugene Peterson, who paraphrased the Bible in The Message, says that the Psalms teach us how to answer God. I have been slowly reading his book on the Psalms, titled after this concept, Answering God.
This Sunday we will look at a particular Psalm, #36. It contains some great statements about God, and some very revealing statements about ourselves – if we live without reference to God.
Sometimes I wonder how Jesus managed to stay on track, not get thrown off by all of the things that so easily hurt us: fear, self-centeredness, using people, insecurity, self- promotion, people-pleasing, those kinds of things. If you imagine that he was so unlike us that he couldn’t be touched by any of those things, then I think that you are underestimating his humanity.
I suspect that his awareness of who God is played a big part in keeping him on the right path. What I want for myself, what I want for others is that our vision of God grow so that it swallows the other junk that distorts what we see.
Psalm 36 is a vision grower. Read it and list what it says about God. Sure, don’t miss what it says about ‘the wicked,’ that is, any of us who attempt to live without God.
It will be great to be together this Sunday.