“Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs _______ in his ways.” What might fill in the blank?
“The righteous” would fill the blank nicely. The righteous are so teachable. They listen to the instructor and do as they are told.
But the psalmist says, “He instructs sinners in his ways.”
Sinners? The Lord must specialize in difficult students.
Actually, this teaching is very encouraging. We are all sinners, so we are all welcome in the Lord’s classroom.
Let’s take a look at our class schedules. What? No electives? No vacations? Classes meet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year?
What’s more, if we skip class, the Lord comes looking for us! And when we don’t get the assignment right, we must do it over till we get it right!
Actually, none of us gets a perfect score. As sinners, we can never be perfect.
But God counts us righteous because of Christ, who gave his perfect life for us. That keeps us humble. “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.” And when we do stray into pride, we can pray, “Forgive my iniquity, though it is great.”
Lent is a good time to enroll in Grace 101.
Lord, in this Lenten season we thank you for teaching us your ways, especially in and through the work of Jesus, in whose name we hope. Amen.
About the author — Dale Vander Veen
Dale Vander Veen is a retired Christian Reformed pastor who with his wife, Edith, has ministered in California, Washington, and Michigan. They have three married children and six grandchildren. He currently writes a daily e-mail series of devotions.
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