The Mystery of the Future

 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:1-6 ESV).

 

It may seem strange to use the 23^rd Psalm as a reference for exploring the mystery of our future. However, the image David uses to describe the provision of the Lord for us is very vivid. The psalm is about intentional care and hospitality. It describes the important work of a faithful shepherd for his flock of sheep. Without a shepherd, the sheep would be hopelessly lost and afflicted by disease or predators. This psalm helps us see how the Lord is our shepherd, and we are his sheep.

 

The mention of a table takes the relationship with God even deeper. The Lord prepares a banquet for us. Our host makes sure that everything is taken care of. When we sit at the table, we acknowledge that we can trust our host to sustain us with all he has provided. Full plates give us all we need while God protects us from the enemies around us.

 

Through the years I have built many “picnic” tables. One of those tables was at the request of my oldest son, Kyle. When we lived in North Carolina, our oldest grandchildren were just toddlers. He approached me with the idea of building a playset in the back yard, which was heavily wooded. As I thought about the design, I determined that it would be great to build two towers using the trees as a part of the design. Between the towers I also added a swinging bridge. Of course, I also added a slide, a climbing wall, and a swing extension with two swings and a glider. To complete the scene, I also built a picnic table placing it in the grassy area near the playset. There were many great memories made around that table as the neighborhood children gathered with Faith and Logan to play and eat their snacks. That is the picture we get from this psalm of David. There was always a sense of jubilant celebration around the table! That’s what we have to look forward to in Christ!