Walking That Walk

                                             Blessed are those whose way is blameless,

Who walk in the Law of the Lord.  (Psalm 119:1)

 

          Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, is all about God’s Word. This means it’s all about His law. Different words are used but they all refer back to the things that God has proclaimed about how things are and should be. I’ll return (no doubt) to the issue of my individual practice of walking in the Law of the Lord, but for today, I’d like to take a broader look at the issue, and the fact of the more general of God’s revelations: nature.

          If we, as Christians, are going to walk in the Law of the Lord, and if we are going to be blessed because our way is blameless, then it is incumbent on us to become far more active in understanding that Law and in applying that law in our lives. To do this, we must become much more aware of, and much more cooperative with nature and science. However, I need to make it clear, and I’m not sure how to make it any clearer than to say categorically and emphatically that I am absolute not in any way, shape, or form suggesting even for half a second that we should make science a god or to buy into every statement that is declared to be “scientific.” Instead, we need to be good scientists and look into the matter for ourselves.

          At the moment, I’m not even talking about engaging in science at the level of a professional. I’m also not talking about starting some movement in which we impose our ideas on others. I’m talking about being aware and acting in conjunction with God’s Law in the world. So, without calling press conferences every morning, Christians can and should be doing things like living more closely or more cooperatively with nature. This could involve picking up litter, planting a vegetable garden and a pollinator garden, putting up bird feeders, finding ways to reuse and recycle and to use what we have with more awareness.

Of course, I’m drawing on subjects that are in my current interests, but we should learn to treat our bodies as the temple of God by feeding them better foods than we should. Perhaps if we were used to cooking, it wouldn’t seem so difficult for us to provide a meal to someone who needs it. And, if we were cooking at home instead of eating junk food, we might be healthier.

          Again, none of this is to suggest that we begin lecturing those outside our families. Instead, walking in the Law of the Lord is a personal thing that  you learn to do and patiently teach your family and those around you. In effect, as Christians, we should be quiet and practical personal conservationists, naturalists, and environmentalists. This isn’t to suggest (again) that we change our lives in the next 24 hours, but if we can just learn to make choices that are more in line with natural law, and more in line with being good stewards of ourselves and our world, we will be moving closer to walking that walk.