Friday, January 26, 2018

Part 4: Declaring to the World Our Eternal Destination (Psalm 23:6)

Part 4: Declaring to the World (23:6)

     The final section of this psalm is declarative. At first the psalmist, writing in the form of a sheep, was speaking about the Shepherd. Then he was speaking to the Shepherd. Now, I believe, the sheep is speaking to the world, declaring both of this world’s blessing of following the Shepherd, and also in the next world.

     He no longer is telling of whom he is following, but what is following him. He is no longer speaking of the blessings of the here and now but what will be for the rest of his days. He is declaring not only of his residence in green pastures and beside the still waters. No, now he is looking for his eternal home, one that will last forever and ever. His forever home is in the house of the Lord.

     Where is heaven? Can you point to it? Is it above us? If so, it is below those on the opposite side of the world and will be below us in 12 hours! Can it be seen with the Hubble telescope? No I cannot point to you where heaven is and I cannot describe in great detail what it will look like. But when I read in Scripture that it is a house of the Lord, and that the Lord is my Shepherd, I know one thing: It is wherever the Lord is! And wherever the Lord is, that is where I want to be.

     But if that is our eternal destination, what kind of trail are we leaving behind us? The sheep is leaving a trail of goodness and mercy. Are you? Do you have an aftermath of good works that will endure long after we have gone on to the house of the Lord? When you leave this world, will your kind and merciful acts be a part of your legacy? 

      The sheep is not so heavenly minded that he is of no earthly good. No! He is bringing God's kingdom to come HERE and His will to be done NOW on earth, hopefully as close as possible as it is being done in heaven.

     Is this your path? I so very much hope it is. Have you ever seen a trail of a jet stream in the sky? That trail is not determining its direction, it is proclaiming its direction! The "jet stream" of our lives should show where we are going. It is a stream of goodness and loving kindness following after us.


Dear God, let us live with eternity on our hearts. Let us not waste our lives. Let us live as if today was our last day to bring goodness and mercy to this earth, because one day it will be. Amen.