March 4, 2006
Psalm 1
Eric Strom, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (Concord)
Read the passage and respond to these questions:
1. What is the basic contrast between the “blessed man” (v. 1-3) and the wicked (v. 4-5)?
2. In more detail, what characterizes the “blessed man”? What is the key condition that yields the fruitful result?
Near my home, there’s a trail that my wife and I walk on occasion. It’s one of those trails that goes through the neighborhood, away from the roads, away from the noise and busy-ness of the traffic. For part of it we walk alongside a creek bed. We know it’s a creek bed because we see water flowing in the winter.
The rest of the year, it’s pretty dry. There is a wonderful collection of trees in there—palms, locusts, pepper trees. It’s beautiful year-round. There’s not a time in the year when there isn’t greenery among those trees. And in the spring some of them put out striking flowers. Here’s the interesting thing, though. Not very far away are some hills that have nothing but grass on them – not a single tree. It’s a pretty startling contrast.
Psalm 1 says that a person who meditates on God’s law is like a tree planted by streams of water. Such trees are fed and nourished by the stream, like the ones on our walking trail. They are beautiful and healthy. Without God’s word, life can end up like a dry, treeless landscape. But a life steeped in and nourished by God’s word is a life strong and joyful in all seasons.
prayer
Holy God, help me not to let less important things distract me from spending time with you. Instead, grow in me an ever greater yearning to seek your word for guidance, wisdom, and nourishment. Amen.