Planted, or blowing in the wind?

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners,
or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. 

But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly. For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.  –Psalm 1

 

This is what the Lord says: "Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord, and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.

The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve." –Jeremiah 17:5-10

 

Mrs. Daniela Cho, one of Boston Trinity's Spanish teachers, shared Wednesday morning that the scripture referenced above are two of her favorites, because they are the ones that most changed her heart. Referring to Psalm 1, Mrs. Cho asked, "What are the two images here? We see the righteous man who is rooted and bears fruit. But the wicked are like chaff (worthless husks from grains that are separated during threshing and blow away in the wind). We can be righteous, with a purpose for others, or we can be like chaff: worthless.

 

How do we become righteous? Mrs. Cho pointed out the word "delight" in the Psalm. We become righteous by meditating on the law of God – making it our delight. "We either delight in the law of the Lord or we delight in something else," Mrs. Cho told the students. "Look at verse one of the Psalm. Sin entangles; it is progressive." She emphasized how easy it is to go from just "following along" to making poor behavioral choices.

 

Moving on to Jeremiah 17, Mrs. Cho pointed out how the wicked are compared to a stunted little shrub, but those who trust in the Lord are like a tree with deep roots, that isn't anxious in seasons of drought. "Ask God to reveal where you are on this journey," Mrs. Cho challenged. "Are you a shrub in the desert? A palm tree blown this way and that in the wind? Or a tree rooted in the law of the Lord, bearing fruit?"