Still and infant – Psalm 34.11-14

Psalm 34:11–14 “11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. 14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.”

Here I am, an elderly adult, and God calls me a child. Why? Because my understanding of him is still so incomplete. My understanding of God is still in its infancy. How can I, a frail and 71-year-old man, comprehend a God that is infinite? The world is still wrestling after thousands of years of trying to figure out the intricacies of the human body, and it still remains a mystery, and that is just one of a thousand, no million of aspects of Life. I truly am a Child.

Now lets think about my ability to understand people, the effect of the words I speak. Can I even begin to comprehend how hurtful my words can be, whether spoken in innocence or spoken in spite? Those words travel through the minds of those in earshot, and they are affected one way or another. Or the words I speak that I think should help or make a difference, yet they are never really heard; they simply go in one ear and out the other. I don’t understand.

Lord, teach me to fear you, not the tremble and cowering fear but the respect and acceptance that the ability mature and better understand the relationship of everything you created one to another. Help me to pursue wisdom and understanding of all that you have set around, the blessings and the curses, so I can better navigate this path of life you have set me on. I am your child born by the spirit of God, born again to a new life of pursuing you not the world. Help me to fear you more.