A Thought

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.  Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain.  It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives sleep to His beloved.”  Psalm 127:1-2

When we work, we work for things that have no lasting value.  We pay our bills that will keep on coming, and we make our car payments only to turn around and trade that car before it is paid for.  We buy groceries week after week because, well, we eat the food!  All these things and so much more has become necessary in our daily living.  And though I would bet the people of Israel did not endure such a complicated life as ours, they still bought, sold, and traded for things that lasted no longer than those things we buy, sell, and trade for today.

The psalmist is making a point, however.  Daily living requires a lot from us but offers nothing that will last beyond its own time.  Humans are the same in that our physical bodies will not last beyond their own time.  The soul, however, which truly defines who we are, is that part of us that will last long after our bodies give out.  This is the eternal image in which we are created, and it is necessary that we find our connection to that which is everlasting.  The Lord must “build the house” and the Lord must “guard the city” lest these things crumble before our eyes, and we discover that for all our work and for all our hoarding and saving for the rainy day that never really comes, we find that apart from the Lord our existence is no more meaningful than a house that will deteriorate with age or a city that changes constantly, vainly trying to keep pace with the latest trends.

Let us look to the heavens and pour out our hearts.  The Lord will show us what matters, and the Lord will give to us that which He wills.  And after the house crumbles and the city falls, we will endure … from everlasting to everlasting.

Blessings,

Michael