When I was in high school, I went swimming with a group of friends in a pond near my house. After a couple of hours hanging out, one of my friends started flopping around and yelling for help. He wasn’t a very good swimmer and it was obvious he wasn’t playing around.
I remember swimming out and trying to help, only to be rewarded by him pushing me under the water, trying to lift himself up by pushing on my head. It was a short struggle, but we eventually made it to shore. It’s amazing we didn’t both drown.
“Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness; turn your ear to me and save me.” – Psalm 71:2Lately, I’ve been drawn to studying world religions again. Specifically the difference between what and who they claim Christ to be, and what and who Christianity claims Christ to be, it’s THE difference.
All other religions place the responsibility on the believer to save themselves through a form of their own “righteousness”. It’s a journey to somehow earn a salvation through righteous acts. In contrast, Christianity is the only religion that depends completely on the righteousness of God, not man’s righteousness, to save us.
Just like a drowning person who simply cannot swim, we need someone else to pursue and rescue us.
This is a crude illustration and certainly doesn’t fully grasp the doctrine of substitutionary atonement, but it certainly reminds me of what the Psalmist is praying for in verse 2 and explains how I can have peace and joy knowing that it’s not my righteousness, it’s his. Not only is it His righteousness, it’s His rescuing, it’s His delivering, it’s His turning, and His saving.
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…” – Isaiah 64:6The quickest way to a miserable life filled with doubt, worry, guilt, and condemnation is to think that our righteous acts had anything to do with our salvation. When it’s His grace from the beginning… it truly can be a wonderful life resting in Him alone.
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” – Jesus (John 10:10)
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Your point is glowing; proper approach to drowning is from under and behind to keep his arms from grabbing you; then one arm around neck as his face is above water level and are swimming sideways one handed; Fla Life guard techniques; he will drown you if you don't sneak up from behind and below him; thanx so much for your heart and concern for us; Agape
ReplyDeletePsalm 71 – Because You are
ReplyDeleteV 20&21 Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. You will increase my honor and comfort me once again.
One of the games I have always played to get teams to know each other personally is “The Question Game”. Simple: ask a series of questions that are personal, but not embarrassing to get people to understand the other folks in the room. For example, “What would be on your tombstone?” What is your favorite city and why?”. One of my favorites is, “Who would you want to spend a day with, living or dead?” After the journaling we have done in Psalms I might have to pick David. How does he know how we feel? This Psalm today is an utterance of struggling, but inexhaustible, faith. How many times are we in the exact place that David writes about? God, I can’t take it any more, but I will because I know You are there
I love what Charles Spurgeon wrote, “However low the Lord may permit us to sink, he will fix a limit to the descent, and in due time will bring us up again. Even when we are laid low in the tomb, the mercy is that we can go no lower, but shall retrace our steps and mount to better lands; and all this, because the Lord is ever mighty to save. A little God would fail us, but not Jehovah the Omnipotent. It is safe to lean on him, since he bears up the pillars both of heaven and earth”
God, You are who You are. Because You are great You will not fail us. Because You are strong, we can be weak. Because You cannot fail, we can fail. Because You are unshakeable, we can stagger. Because You are wise we can be foolish. CS Lewis wrote, “God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain”
God, because You are God, we can be human. Thank you for being Who You Are - for without You, we cannot be.