Christians Are Already Blessed In Christ
From the language in Psalm 1, it becomes clear that Jesus is the blessed one. This Psalm points forward to one who is to come. The grammar requires full obedience, something we could never do. In light of Jesus being the blessed one, we need to understand that a way that we can reflect the righteous person in Psalm 1 is by knowing Jesus. He has fulfilled this for us, and for all who are united to Him by faith.
Additionally, He has called us to live in such a way as to represent him to the world. There is a reason that people in the early church were called Christians. It simply means “little Christs.” They were seeking to live like Christ. We know that living like Jesus doesn’t save us, but we do so because we are saved by Him and trust that He knows what is best for us and the world around us.
Christians Are Called To Live Distinct Lives
John Calvin wrote, “The first step to living well is to renounce the company of the ungodly, otherwise it is sure to infect us with its own pollution.”[1] A mark of this Psalm is that the growing Christian is not influenced by those around them. This also means that we are not to be influencing people toward evil. Unfortunately, because we struggle with sin, both of these things are common traps. It is easier to gain friends with people by our mutual sinfulness than our mutual holiness. It is easy to gain friends based on our love for sin or breaking the rules. Rebellion loves company.
Though rebellion loves company, company is also essential for godliness. The difference is the character of the company we keep. While each friend we have will still fall into sin, we should desire to have our closest friends be those who, more often than not, encourage us to live more like Jesus. If we have to filter everything that is said and always be on guard not to be influenced the wrong way, that is exhaustion, not friendship.
Christians Are Called to Be Rooted
Christians are described as people who delight in God’s Word. John Stott says it like this,
“As a result of the inward, regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, however, the godly find that they love the law of God simply because it conveys to them the will of their God. They do not rebel against its exacting demands; their whole being approves and endorses it.… Delighting in it, the godly will meditate in it, or pore over it, constantly, day and night.”[2]
When the Holy Spirit changes us, everything about us changes. We now want to follow Jesus, and we want to live in obedience. This makes us different from those that don’t know Jesus. Because of that, we must surround ourselves with people who have been changed as well. We are prone to settle and stall out our pursuit of holiness. If those around us are more eager to wallow in sin than to confess sin and cry out to God to change them, then we will look no different than the culture around us. We will not reflect the blessed one but the wicked one!
Living lives that reflect Jesus is only possible, though, if the water is nourishing us. In the New Testament, Jesus calls himself the living water. We must be grounded in Him. Friendships that challenge the status quo are friendships that are serious about Jesus and desire to know Him through His Word.
How are you using this time to point others to Christ? Who is investing in your life right now?
[1] John Calvin and James Anderson, Commentary on the Book of Psalms, vol. 1 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 2.
[2] James Montgomery Boice, Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005), 17.
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