“I love the Lord because he has heard my voice and my supplications. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.”
Psalm 116:1-2 NRSVue
When one looks only at these two verses, it sounds as though the Psalmist is declaring that his love for God is due to what he receives from God. I’ve seen this attitude in the Church, and it is toxic. I’ll go so far as saying it isn’t faith.
True faith is disinterested in the philosophical sense. This means that one has faith in God because of who God is, not because of what one can get from God. When one reads the context of these verses, it is clear that this is a psalm of rejoicing after the Psalmist was healed from illness. It isn’t that the Psalmist only loves God because of what He gives. But after recovering, there is a particular sense of rejoicing because God heard him and because God can be counted on.
There is nothing wrong with rejoicing in good gifts from God. We should rejoice in them. We should rejoice that God cares for us and will continue to care for us throughout our lives. That is the point here.
God loves us. God cares for us. God will always care for us. In that we should rejoice.
A Quote to Consider:
“The most common form of despair is not being who you are.”
-Søren Kierkegaard
Kierkegaard had many tremendous insights. This one is particularly poignant for today.
We live in a time when so many people are performing rather than embracing who they truly are. They perform for social media. They perform for the Church. They perform for the broader culture. They perform for their family.
It has probably always been this way. Kierkegaard seems to think it was this way two hundred years ago. He was likely correct.
We were each made as unique bearers of God’s image. Unfortunately, many of us believe that there is neither love nor acceptance found in being who we are.
God knows our faults and loves us anyway. He knows our nature. He created it after all. If we who claim faith in God are to properly reflect His image, we must love our neighbors even knowing their faults. If we make someone feel as if they cannot be who they are, we need to plead for God’s forgiveness because we have felt His image was not worthy of our love.
There are two sides to Kierkegaard’s wise words. There is the side where we need to realize that we do not need to live in the despair of not being who we are. And, there is the side where we need to take responsibility for any part we have had in making someone feel as though they must live in such despair.
A Prayer:
Lord,
Thank you for hearing us and caring for us. Help us rejoice in your love, trust you fully, and live honestly as bearers of your image.
Amen.
Image: Pamela Reynoso
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