The House of the Lord

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever. (Psalm 23:6b)

The final promise of the 23rd Psalm neatly wraps up the narrative of the Good Shepherd. The quintessential "Happily Ever After," Psalm 23:6 tells us the end of our journey is not the end of our story. It serves as a reminder that, after God has kept us all through this life -- after He has led us through the Valley, after He has provided for us and kept us safe and found us rest and refreshment -- He will finally lead us to an eternal home with Him. 

What a promise! It is in this verse we learn that, though He is the shepherd, we are not merely sheep. Indeed, we are family to the Shepherd -- children of the King -- and He has prepared us a place in His own house!

This verse also implies another promise: that we do not wander in vain. That we have a destination. Sure, God promises to keep us safe in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, but why walk through it at all? Because, as we find in verse 6, we're going somewhere. We're not not merely walking around, grazing from field to field, but our Shepherd is guiding us to a permanent Home -- a place where there are no enemies, where still waters abound, where the shadow of death cannot reach. 

And we know that, once we get there, His home -- the House of the Lord -- is OUR home forever. 

I Found The Prize!

Today is Cracker Jack Day.

I love Cracker Jacks. The caramel popcorn and peanut concoction recalls a simpler time, sitting on the lawn, that little cardboard box in front of me, hands slipping in for another handful and finding instead that wrapped object, shoved in among the deliciousness. The prize. It was always some cheap piece of junk, a plastic magnifying glass or... actually I can't even remember any other prizes. But there was a time in our lives when we loved it.

Yet, that was never why I bought cracker jacks with the day's allowance. I bought it because it was a tasty snack. The prize was a bonus.

Christianity is like that. We hear about our "reward" in Heaven, but that's not why I'm a Christian. I am a Christian because Jesus Christ allowed Himself to be humbled, to be humiliated, to be tortured and killed, all so that I could be forgiven, and know God. He called me out of sin, and into righteousness. He has given me a life of purpose, of grace, and of Love. He has given me a relationship with the Creator of the Universe. And then to top it off, He extended it for all eternity, and without the pain we suffer in this life. A life lived as close to the presence of God as we are able, an eternity in the actual presence of the Most High. That's the goodness in the box, for me. That I am loved by a sovereign king, the creator of all things, the God of the Universe.

But then, as though it isn't enough that He willingly forgives everything I've ever done, he adds a prize.

"Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done." (Revelation 22:12)

That's not why I'm a Christian. That's not why I serve Him. I serve Christ because I love Him. A life serving a loving, living God is the box of cracker jacks. But God's reward sure beats a plastic magnifying glass.