Psalm 145:8-10
“The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” vs. 8
Occasionally we hear voices being raised against the Old Testament, with some saying that a divorce needs to take place, that followers of Jesus should distance themselves from the patriarchal and genocidal legalisms of the Hebrew scriptures. It’s as though our modern sensibilities need protection from the teachings of our ancestors. Such thinking is not only misguided, it’s horribly misleading. What we call the Old Testament is the scripture that molded Jesus’ thinking about his own call and mission…it’s the only scripture that he had! Indeed it was the only scripture available to the early church through the first centuries of its existence. It’s here that we first discover the powerful strains of the song of grace that we continue to sing out as the central hymn of faith. It’s here that we see revealed everything that we need to know about God, a message affirmed by Jesus, and hopefully stamped on our hearts. Over and over we see this basic truth repeated in the psalms and the prophets, “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” Today we’re taking time to celebrate our country and the unique blessings it is in position to offer the world. It’s a particularly good day to also honor our God, the Lord who promises good to all and who has compassion for every created being.
Thought for the Day: In what ways does our country reflect God’s nature?
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