Psalm 24
“The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.
For He has founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the waters.
Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive blessing from the Lord,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face. Selah
Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory.”
As I read this chapter today, I realized that there are a number of areas in which I fall short. Do I have clean hands? A pure heart? While I’d like to think so, the answer is most definitely “no.”
Do I treat God as my only god? I’d like to resolutely agree, but sometimes I let the show I’m binge-watching or my Instagram feed take over my day-to-day devotion.
These realizations aren’t new to me, but they’re still as disheartening as ever. What am I to do when the world around me swirls me through the funnel of media and distraction? How am I supposed to join Jesus one day?
That’s where this turns around and becomes a triumphant anecdote.
Romans 3:22-26 says, “…For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
God already knows we fail at nearly every turn. He sees us, knows us, hears our cries, and welcomes us with open arms. Salvation is available to us through His righteousness as we cannot fully attain it on our own. Jesus paid the price. And the gift is freedom from eternal separation from God. We get life, and life with Him.
So, the next time you’re noticing your weaknesses or failures, remember that Jesus is not only a cool guy who lived a long time ago but also the King of glory who died a terrible death and rose again so we could have relationship with Him forever.
