Thoughts for the Day

Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.

Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

As the mother of two boys I learnt one thing. It was no good saying "Don't climb that tree when it's wet, because it will be slippery and you'll fall!" For as sure as eggs are eggs that's what happened, and someone would end up with scraped knees at best. The same went for "Don't use the rope swing over the river because it's dangerous!" To young teenagers it was simply too attractive and the inevitable happened - they fell in the water. As children we more often learn by doing something, whether it's a good idea or not, and all we adults can do is try to teach them beforehand.

The seven years I spent as a Diocesan Children's Adviser taught me a lot, not least that children learn to love by being loved, and they learn to be unselfish and share by being around others and encouraged to do so, but it doesn't come naturally to them. "I want" is a phrase that continues often well into adulthood. Think of the "I want my wedding to be ......." that we see on tv sometimes! (Not "our" wedding, note!)

Psalm 1 reminds us that we can grow spiritually, like trees growing by the water and we can yield good fruit in our lives and show evidence of the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5.22-23), or we can choose opposite way. For those of us who have chosen to follow Christ our language needs to change from "I" to "us" and we need to learn from those who have gone before us, and especially from our Lord. He didn't say "love ourselves", but effectively he said, "Love God, and love others as we love ourself".

Loving Lord Jesus,
You taught us to deny ourselves
and to follow You.
Teach us to love You
as You deserve,
to be less selfish
and to think of others before ourselves
so that we will continue to grow good fruit
in our life.
Amen.