Psalm 103

1Praise the Lord, my soul;

all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2Praise the Lord, my soul,

and forget not all his benefits—

3who forgives all your sins

and heals all your diseases,

4who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion,

5who satisfies your desires with good things

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6The Lord works righteousness

and justice for all the oppressed.

7He made known his ways to Moses,

his deeds to the people of Israel:

8The Lord is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger, abounding in love.

9He will not always accuse,

nor will he harbor his anger forever;

10he does not treat us as our sins deserve

or repay us according to our iniquities.

I have been expressing such thoughts to friends and family lately. There is so much push in our society to leave relationships, make our lives easier and seek comfort. I get it, but truth is, you and I don’t deserve to be alive. God does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. Suffering the consequences of the sinful decisions I have made is a kindness because my sins deserved death before a holy God. We swim in the deep end of His mercy every day, which means we never get what we deserve. As David says in another psalm, 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 23:6)

I am not sure everyone gets this or agrees with me, and perhaps I don’t quite understand it yet either. As I currently see it, if we deserve to be here, then why do we need a Savior? From what are we being rescued? The truth is we have nothing to give apart from Christ: For apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

11For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his love for those who fear him;

12as far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

13As a father has compassion on his children,

so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

14for he knows how we are formed,

he remembers that we are dust.

15The life of mortals is like grass,

they flourish like a flower of the field;

16the wind blows over it and it is gone,

and its place remembers it no more.

I am the author of One Gritty Blink: Contemplating the Brevity of Life Compared to Eternity, so I have collected verses about the brevity of life. I have seen these specific verses, but never noticed the last line of verse 16: and its place remembers it no more. I never saw this before! I have been driving around my city thinking about how the world will remember me no more. I know the name of my grandmother (I miss her) but not the name of her mother, or her mother, or hers. Their places are remembered no more. My grandchildren will remember my name, but probably not my great grandchildren or my great-greats. My place in the family lineage will be forgotten.

My place will be remembered no more.

So what does this mean? To me, it means we don’t live for here! Our time is short anyway, and then we won’t be remembered to boot. It’s a no brainer.

Why even try?

When I leave my job, my office will be adopted by a younger person who will then have their career behind me. The institution will continue on. People won’t even remember Laurie O’Connor except for the students I taught, then they too will pass away and their place will be remembered no more as well.

I think I live less for this world than many Christians, but pondering this truth this past few weeks has disassociated me from earth even further. Only Jesus. Only eternity. Only His Kingdom. All Him – No me. May we enjoy this world without clinging or collecting anything else but people and their souls.

17But from everlasting to everlasting

the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,

and his righteousness with their children’s children—

18with those who keep his covenant

and remember to obey his precepts.

19The Lord has established his throne in heaven,

and his kingdom rules over all.

20Praise the Lord, you his angels,

you mighty ones who do his bidding,

who obey his word.

21Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,

you his servants who do his will.

22Praise the Lord, all his works

everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.