LIKE A TREE FIRMLY PLANTED

“He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields it fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (Psalm 1:3).

This quote comes from Psalm 1. It’s a short psalm that is worth reading and re-reading. It deals with the most fundamental choices of life. It is a reminder of an oft-repeated truth found in Scripture, that there are basically two very different paths in life.

The path we take is determined by our attitude toward God and his word. There are some who are described as “scoffers” (v. 1). These are opposed to God and his laws. They stand in contrast to those who delight in God’s laws and who are devoted to thinking and meditating on them day and night (v. 2). “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105).

Our path in life is determined by the choices we make. Those who choose to walk in the counsel of the wicked may eventually find themselves in the wrong company and headed down the wrong path. It is a matter of the choices we make in life. What counsel will we follow? What advice will we adopt? What is our thinking?

The path traveled by the wicked is a way that is doomed from the start. “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov. 16:25). Those who follow this path are like chaff that is thrown away. Choosing the wrong pathway has consequences.

Those who choose the high road in life are those who are blessed. The good way is the way of devotion to the law of the Lord. God’s word is the road map that guides us in the right way. The one who travels the good way will be like a well-planted, fruitful tree (Jer. 17:5-8). It is the way that brings stability, life, and prosperity.

God knows the way of the righteous. He cares about us. Which path shall we choose to travel?

Dan Petty

SOME THOUGHTS ON CREATION

Our Bible reading for this week included passages from the early chapters of Genesis, including the account of creation. It reminded me that creation has enormously important implications that help form our worldview—our understanding of the world, who we are as human beings, and our relationship to the Creator.

Creation is one of the ways God has revealed himself. David wrote about how the glory of God is reflected in the created order. “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Ps. 19:1-6). The apostle Paul argued that certain attributes of God are made evident in the creation, namely, his “eternal power and divine nature” (Rom. 1:20).

Creation speaks to the principle of God’s sovereignty over all things. “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and earth is yours” (1 Chron. 29:10-12). “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Ps. 115:3).

Creation makes God worthy of worship. “Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker” (Ps. 95:6). “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for you created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created” (Rev. 4:11). Creation shows that God, and God alone, is worthy of our praise, adoration, and thanksgiving. Of course, all this reminds us of God’s special interest in us as human beings.

Creation shows God’s special relationship with mankind. This was the culmination of God’s creative work because mankind was made in God’s own image and likeness (Gen. 1:27-30). The physical universe was made for man’s good and enjoyment. Man’s relationship with the creation was his dominion over and stewardship of what God had made.

God’s creation is an indication of his desire to be in fellowship with mankind whom he made in his image. His creation included personal beings who could know him and respond to him. God’s highest purpose in creation was to be glorified by beings who could acknowledge God’s glory as manifested in his works, and who could praise him on account of it. The blessings and beauty of the things God created were for us to enjoy. But we are to enjoy them especially as gifts from the God who loves us. More important than enjoying the gift is enjoying and loving the Giver himself. It’s been said that without the presence of rational creatures, the world would be like a book with no reader, a voice with no one to hear, a work of art with no one to appreciate it, or a beautiful house with no inhabitant. “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (Jas. 1:17).

God’s creation ultimately reminds us of his new creation in Christ. God is the great giver of life, light, and love. But his creative power is not seen just in the creation of the world and of mankind. We see it in his promise of the new creation in Christ. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Eph. 2:10). “If anyone in Christ, he is a new creature; the only things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Cor. 5:17).

Dan Petty