I read Psalm 73 on Christmas Day.

“Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart” (1).

Jesus came to give us new, clean hearts. He came to make possible for us a good, positive relationship with God.

So the Psalmist gets off to a good beginning. But then he opens his heart to reveal his frustration and envy with how people who have an unclean heart and reject God’s ways still prosper in this life. And often they do so better than and perhaps even at the expense of those who follow God.

He even gets to the point of declaring:

“Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency” (13).

But when his perspective changes, so does his understanding:

“Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end” (17).

When he turns his focus God-ward, then he sees that living by God’s goodness is the only way to live that’s truly prosperous.

And that’s a Christmas message that better stay with me all year through all my years.

Posted: December 25