Set for (eternal) life

 This week's verses are Psalm 15:5-7:

Lord, you give me stability and prosperity;
you make my future secure.
It is as if I have been given fertile fields
or received a beautiful tract of land.
I will praise the Lord who guides me;
yes, during the night I reflect and learn.

 Imagine you lived in a world without bankers. No stocks. No retirement pensions. The only sure store of property in that world is property itself. You would buy a farm, and its "dividend" would be the value of the harvest you could get from it, whether it was wine, or livestock, or fruits and vegetables. To even own a farm would put you in a good place. But what if the farm was on dry, infertile ground? What if it was ugly or in a bad location and had poor resale value? You'd be blessed, but you'd still have complaints. If only I had X.

 Well, that's the world the Psalmist lived in. In ancient Israel property was everything. It was so important that the inheritance was permanent on a given tract of land. Every 49 years, ownership would revert back to the original owner. So if you had a bad tract of land, or no tract at all, that was more or less an eternal problem.

But if you had good land, it was precious. It was a privilege. In modern terms, it's a bit like finding out in adulthood that you have access to a trust fund for life. You still have to work, but you don't have to work as hard. Your worries about the future are fainter and less menacing than the majority of people who have less than $1000 in the bank and no substantial retirement provisions.

And that's kind of what the Psalmist is saying about his connection with God. His future is guaranteed. His worst case scenario is never that bad, because he'll always have something good. His future is secure. He has lucked out, not just in the moment, but forever.

Do you see your life like the Psalmist sees his? Did luck fall in your favor? Do you feel like things are taken care of for you, that you are set for life?

If not, maybe you haven't really got a good look at the property you've been given. They say people's happiness isn't necessarily linked to their prosperity or health. It's more related to their ability to enjoy what they have. If you've ever traveled to poor countries, you know it's true. And it makes sense, otherwise nobody in Biblical times could have been happy without TV or Internet or mobile phones. Take those things away from someone in modern times and they're miserable. But have you really looked around at what you've got?

When we understand what we have in God, we can't help but be thankful. And when we realize he is looking out for us, our circumstances seem a lot richer, and a lot less dire.

One of the first things I noticed about Christians was how much happier they seemed than anyone else. And not just fake, churchy happiness, but genuine joy at life. So the phenomenon the Psalmist describes still happens in modern times. It is still possible for us to be overjoyed at what we have, even when we live in a world that seems designed to provoke envy.

So be thankful for where you are. That you were born to be alive right now. That you have the family and friends and surroundings that you do. And that you have access to the ear of God himself.

And be thankful for where you will be. Your future is secure. You will exist eternally. Thanks to Jesus, even if you die, there will be nothing that is able to stop you from continuing to exist. All expenses paid for you to continue your journey.

You have no idea how lucky you are. You are set for eternal life!