Pictured: "Weighing the Soul", 1875I have been reading Psalm 24 this week about who shall ascend to God's "holy place." For me, this is the place of Christ's presence, the thin places in creation where we can touch and be touched by God's grace. It says "those who have clean hands (a matter of outward ritual) and pure hearts (a matter of inward love), who do not lift up their souls to what is false."
I wonder how often we in modern America lift up our souls (or shall I say "inspire ourselves") to what is false. We spend money and time on self-help, the latest techniques, and easy steps for a happy life. We dabble with spirituality as if it were a buffet spread for our choosing what we like and don't like. We so easily integrate cultural values into our faith, which leaves us with a false sense of who we are. We buy into the assumptions that we are what we have, we are what we know, and we are what people say about us. And we recreate Christianity in our own image.
"Lord, help us to be a people who draw our identity from the silence of God. We are your beloved children. We are created, redeemed, and sustained by the breath of your Spirit. Everything else we assume ourselves to be is a lie. Forgive us, we pray, and free us for joyful obedience through Jesus Christ our Lord."
