This past Sunday we did a brief study of Psalm 102. It serves as a general assessment of the Christian’s experience in this world. I am not surprised that some are quite put off by this assessment as though it was altogether too morose.
It reminds me of a story a gentleman by the name of Carl shared with me recently. He and some friends were fishing in a remote lake in Canada. They were enjoying a pleasant summer afternoon, catching many fish and just generally reveling in the pleasures of the day. However, as the late evening came upon them, they found themselves unsure of where they were as the darkness of the night began to fall. They really had not paid much attention to where they were going and now in the approaching darkness they felt quite lost and threatened.
In the last fifty or sixty years Christians have had a rather comfortable home here in America and in the enjoyment of those days many have lost their bearings and are really quite far from camp. Carl spoke of how relieved these fishermen were when at last they saw a light in the distance.
I see that as a real challenge to us as churches and church leaders to maintain a clear and certain light in a “Christian” world that has lost its bearings.
