The blessing of blameless
“Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!”
I need God to tell me that walking in His law is a blessing. The truth is that this revelation goes against my instincts.
My instinct is to want to walk in the way of my whims and desires. I’m ashamed to admit that my instinct is to go even so far as to envy the evil and the wicked (Psalm 37:1). Sometimes, I want to be like them. To have the things they seem to have. My natural bent is to feel that I am missing out on a blessing, fun, and a desirable life if I were to go the way of God.
“Blessed are those whose way is blameless...”
Yes, I need to hear that. I need a reminder that this is true.
Not because I’m blameless. It’s far too late for that.
And not because I’m capable of walking blameless on my own.
I don’t believe that the main intention of this verse is encouraging me to try harder.
This verse aims to change my desires or maybe to solidify them. It aims to reorient my worldview. To help me look past appearances and guide me back into reality.
”Blessed are those whose way is blameless…”
Okay then. I’m starting to understand. My perception of what is a blessing is typically off. Let me turn my gaze away from the false blessing of doing my own thing and pay closer attention to the only true blessing. The blessing attained by the blameless. The blessing reached by those who walk in the law of the Lord.
Jesus alone is blameless. He alone has truly walked in the law of the Lord. And by doing so, He secured the blessing mentioned in this Psalm. He secured the blessing so that He could share it with you and me.
Do I want it?
That’s the question that came to mind as I read Psalm 119:1.
The fact that some part of me can say, “I do,” is evidence of the Spirit of God at work in me. But I still need God to help my desires. I need Him to continue to open my eyes to the glorious blessing of the blameless.
In one sense, the blessing is mine in Christ. In another sense, I am taking hold of that blessing as I am being made like Christ. As I pursue Christlikeness, walk in His ways, follow in His steps, and move towards holiness, I get to experience the blessing that I have been given.
The oldest lie in the book is that God is keeping something from us. The reality is that God desires to bless us. He desires to share the blessing of His way with us.
Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the blameless one, the blessing of Psalm 119:1 is offered to us. We take hold of that blessing by faith, and we experience the blessing as we move toward Him.
