Psalm 97:1-12 (links validated 11/30/23)

The writer and theologian Lewis B. Smedes once wrote that when you get right down to it, every single one of us deep down longs for a day when we get noticed, when the Hallelujah Chorus gets sung for us, when a spotlight shines on one of our accomplishments and the plaudits of our peers and family and friends rush our way like some happy torrent of refreshing water. We want things to work out and deep down we want good things to come our way, to be noticed. What’s more, Smedes went on to note, people who deny that about themselves are often a little nasty (in addition to being more than a little self-deceived). It’s not that desiring a moment in the spotlight makes us vain or unduly egotistical. This is not something only the sinfully proud could ever desire for themselves. There is something normal about it, especially for people who deep down also believe in fairness and justice and a world that can see the truth about things clearly. Psalm 97 reflects something of all this, too. It’s not that the light of goodness always shines on the righteous for now. But it should. And some day our fondest desire and belief is that it will.