What the Lord Demands
Passage to be read: Psalm 15
"Lord, who may enter your Holy Tent?
Who may live on your Holy Mountain?
Only those who are innocent
and who do what is right."
(Psalm 15: 1,2)
A psalm of King David; a psalm with a serious tone. A tender reminder of what God expects from us. A kind warning of the traps that we may easily fall into. Teaches us the demands of the Lord. And David begins the psalm with a serious question.
Raising his thoughts up to the Most Holy One, David presents his question. "Lord, who may enter your Holy Tent?" Paraphrasing the same question leads us into further contemplations. "Who may enter the Holy Tent of God? Who can live on the Holy Mountain where God's presence reigns?" Aren't these really big and huge questions to ponder upon? Indeed, they are. Clouds of impossibilities may be prevailing in your sky of thought right now. It may seems impossible with our human capabilities. But God honors those who are innocent and those who do what is right. Two basic things in Lord's demands. And David presents them soon after these two great questions. "Only those who are innocent
and who do what is right." Wow!
Innocence! For some of us, innocence seems like a stranger to even imagine about. Being innocent would have once been part of our life, probably as a child, but as we grew older and older, innocence began fading away. Our thoughts and actions would have always searched for that personal gain in whatever we attempted to do, at least a mutual gain. Our head always stood before our heart. We were fast to plot and plan than to accept and embrace. Where did our innocence fly away? If you feel that innocence had left you long back with thoughts that were selfish, cunning, evil and overpowering, this is the day for you to pause, look back and ask God to bless you again with that God-given innocence. And God honors those who are innocent in His eyes. Let not our thoughts and body rush towards the act of falling into sin. Let not our hearts be regularly corrupted by the habits that keep us drowned into the mud of sinful nature. Let there be innocence.
Doing what is right, is the greatest calling all of us have as the children of God. Doing the right thing at every point of our life just keeps us getting closer to God. It means, at every point of our life, we have chosen to take the right route; the route that takes us to the right place; God's Holy Tent. It may be hard at times to even pause ourselves, for the speed in which we have rushed towards this particular place in our life. But, God demands that we do the right thing. Our urgency to fulfill the need of this moment should not lead us towards taking the wrong directions, doing the wrong thing as a result. Whatever the demands around us, we have to seek what God demands from us. He wants us to do the right thing. And we need to pause, ask God, and with His help do the right thing. At every point of our life, before we decide on anything, we must have the consultation with God. And if He allows us to go further, we will do it.
Who may enter God's Holy Presence?
Who will live in the place where His Presence reigns?
Each and everyone of us, who had the God-given innocence unspoiled and fresh in us, with the strength at every point of our lives to seek God's help to do the right thing.
I pray that we will all search and find the long-lost God-given innocence and will seek God's strength to do what is right.
May God bless you.
Yours in Christ,
