A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.
1 How wonderful and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in harmony!
2 For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil
that was poured over Aaron’s head,
that ran down his beard
and onto the border of his robe.
3 Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon
that falls on the mountains of Zion.
And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing,
even life everlasting.
I’ve long thought that one of the most attractive things about following Jesus is the fruit of the Spirit. Doesn’t everyone want a life where love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control are in abundance? What kind of a world would it be if each individual had these attributes welling up inside? Wouldn't there be a world where harmony persisted and conflicts were nonexistant between those who possessed such luxurious character? David had a vision from God of such a world. And when everyone gets along, it leads to eternal life. But of course this would be the outcome of an existence where people were living in the lap of luxurious peace and unity. If we have no conflict with God and we have no conflict with each other and we have no conflict with ourselves, we can expect that the reign of sin and death has given way to the reign of life and peace. So this hope isn’t just a lying humanism promising that we are actually good inside, contrary to everything we see and feel. It is a promise of radical change. And there is only one person who has made such a promise and then made good on it.
“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.”
Who except for Jesus the Messiah has given His Spirit to comfort us and offered to change our hearts? The author of Hebrews shows us that it is Jesus who fulfils this promise (Hebrews 8:6&10).
It was as a result of believing in Jesus that the first church in Acts 2 is reported to have started out with amazing unity and love for each other.
42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord's Supper), and to prayer. 43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity-- 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
We have been plagued with selfishness dressed up in the title and clothing of stewardship. In the name of economy, efficiency and pragmatic thinking the church today is in danger of losing sight of the luxury of God’s blessing.
Psalm 133 talks of pouring out the oil of anointing so that it overflows. Even today anointing oil is costly, and I have seen these tiny vials carefully moisten the thumb of the person doing the anointing, with a small smear of oil being left on the head of the person being anointed.
Consider Jesus, who seems reluctant to make wine when asked by His mother but then makes a ridiculous amount of wine for any size feast. Or remember the times basket loads of food are left over after feeding literally thousands of people. Jesus even heals seemingly unintentionally people just reaching out to touch Him, He is so overflowing with power. No wonder Jesus says the following in Luke:
“Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.””
So now get your thoughts in order and stop valuing the material things of this world. See the eternal value of unity, harmony and love between brothers. And then you will read this promise differently. No wonder Paul instructs us to make every effort to preserve unity.
“Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.”
This gift of God is the overflowing luxury that we need to desire, preserve and long for. Such absence of conflict, selfishness and stinginess is befitting of eternal life and God’s eternal kingdom.
Conclusion: Don’t you want this abundant, peace-giving way of overflowing the presence of God in all your relationships? Then you need the Spirit of God which Jesus gives freely to those who have had a heart transplant. They can then live like there is no tomorrow because they have eternity to give, and live in harmony with each other.
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| Handwritten Psalm 133 |
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