Hey, you baby boomers, do you remember the Long Ranger’s Creed. It used to be as familiar to boys in America as The Boy Scout Oath. Written by Fran Striker, it was the kind of creed that felt good. The creed said, “I believe that to have a friend, a man must be one.”
Our Psalm today, 133, Verse one is a very important verse. It’s quoted and/or alluded to in the New Testament several times. It says, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” The word, behold, is really a command to stop, look, notice and observe what you see. And what you see is really good and pleasant. What is good and pleasant is people living in harmony. Harmony might even be a better translation as the New Living Translation puts it, because the word refers to complementing each other. As parts of the body have different functions but the all work together to accomplish a common goal. When you observe that happening you can’t help but marvel at the beauty.
Many years ago, two students graduated from the Chicago-Kent College of Law. The highest ranking student in the class was a blind man named Overton, and when he received his honor, he insisted that half the credit should go to his friend, Kaspryzak. They had first met one another in school when the armless Kaspryzak had guided the blind Overton down a flight of stairs. This acquaintance ripened into friendship and a beautiful example of interdependence. The blind man carried the books that the armless man read aloud in their common study, and thus the deficiency of each individual was compensated for by the other’s ability.
How “good and pleasant” is that?
Chuck
“We keep looking to the Lord our God for his mercy, just as servants keep their eyes on their master, as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.” (Psalm 123:2)