True Prosperity


 They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
bearing fruit in due season,
with leaves that do not wither;
everything they do shall prosper. 
                                 (Psalm 1:3)

What exquisite imagery the psalmist brings to us on behalf of those happy ones who "have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, nor lingered in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seats of the scornful!" 

This provides the faithful with such a simple, clear prescription for how to live. We need only ask of whatever we do, say or undertake, "Is this rooted and grounded in love" (Ephesians 3:17) -- the love of God, which has been "poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (Romans 5:5)? Does it draw its inspiration and nourishment from these deep waters of the living God?

If so -- and we will always know the answer if we observe honest self-examination -- then we need have no worries. Even if we note an immediate lack of results, we can be assured that our ministry in the world will indeed bear fruit in due season, at the right time, in a cycle of growth that is in God's hands.

If not, calamity will follow. Here in Columbus we have been following the soap-operaesque story of a homebuilder who seemed to succeed for a period of time in his efforts to defraud the IRS and cheat his way to wealth. But we know that God's judgment will always prevail, and that has proved to be the case here as well.

For the Lord knows 
the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked
shall be destroyed.
                          (Psalm 1:6)

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