November 17 – Ayin - Psalm 119:121-128

November 17 – Ayin - Psalm 119:121-128

I have done what is just and right; do not leave me to my oppressors.
Be surety for thy servant for good; let not the godless oppress me.
My eyes fail with watching for thy salvation, and for the fulfilment of thy righteous promise.
Deal with thy servant according to thy steadfast love, and teach me thy statutes.
I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies!
It is time for the LORD to act, for thy law has been broken.
Therefore I love thy commandments above gold, above fine gold.
Therefore I direct my steps by all thy precepts; I hate every false way.

Can you imagine what our lives would look like if the Lord dealt his people with anything but love?  The Psalmist then calls on the Lord to act for His law has been broken.  What if the Lord did act with justice and righteous anger every time we broke His law?

I, for one, would be in misery every moment of the day.  I could not stand up under the Lord’s anger for the things that I consider to be small misdemeanors, yet I know there is every probability that things I have said or done have wounded someone’s heart in ways I can never repair.

When I choose to act out of anger rather than love or respond with bitterness or nastiness rather than grace, I don’t deserve the Lord’s love to be poured out on me.  When I gossip about someone or place my needs before theirs because I think I deserve that, I live according to the world’s rules, not God’s … and I don’t deserve His grace.

Every day we want the Lord to treat us with love and grace, yet we treat those around us with disdain. We expect justice and equality, never knowing what that might really mean.  We want people to act just like us, to behave in the manner we believe is correct, to live according to rules we have applied to the culture, to fit in with our understanding of the world, to abide by our interpretation of Scripture.

We miss the point. Everything is to be predicated with love.  Every single consideration we give to another person on this earth is to begin with love.  We can’t judge or set rules or create expectations unless we begin with love … for each person, not for a specific group that makes sense.  God doesn’t lump us all into groups and then choose which will be loved and forgiven, he loves each person for who they are first and He asks us to do the same.

Ask the Lord every day to deal with you in love, then turn around and love each person that you encounter, whether in person or around the world.