The Blessed Man

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers." Psalm 1:1

I had a revelation this morning as i read this verse again. It was as if God peeled back a layer and revealed a new truth to me, so I had to share. It is as if God walks man through a progression of what has to happen in his life in order for man to be blessed. First he must not walk in the counsel of the wicked. If he is not walking in the counsel of the wicked, then he must walk in the counsel of the righteous. The righteous become some by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, blessing comes for those under grace. This is not to say that wickedness is not present. It is not to say that wickedness does not give counsel, because both of these are true. What it does say is that the counsel of the wicked is not heeded, but the counsel of righteousness is. It is here that we must lay claim to surrounding ourselves with wise and godly counsel. We must surround ourselves who have grace as their path and Heaven as their goal. This is the most important step in being the blessed man -- to live under grace and follow the path of righteousness.

If this is true, then the next thing results. The blessed man does not stand in the way of sinners. I have always read this as the man standing or living the same way that sinners do. Today, however, God reavealed to me that the blessed man does not stand in the way of sinners or that a man who is under grace does not keep a sinner from coming to Christ. This prompts the question of how we live. If we truly claim to be under grace then there should be nothing in our lives that keeps others from coming to or following us to Christ. We are not to be a stumbling block to those who have yet to discover the path of righteousness through grace. That puts a whole now light on living under grace. Grace is not just for us, but also for those who have yet to come under it.

The blessed man does not sit in the seat of mockers. The mockers are the ones who look down upon and make fun of others. Those who are mocked are those who are different. The blessed may may be mocked because his life is different becasue of Jesus, but he should never be the mocker. When we look at people through the eyes of grace, we see what Jesus see -- the hurting, the suffering, the wounded. We do not see as man sees -- the lazy, the disabled, the useless. The mockers sit where those under grace are active in meeting the needs of people. When Jesus was with people, it was very rare to see Him sitting down (unless He was teaching). He was always up and among the people. The mockers sit and point out what is wrong, while those under grace do something about it.

Hopefully tomorrow, we can carry over into verse 2. Until next time, keep crashing into life!