His Love Endures Forever

A Psalm for giving thanks. 1Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! 2Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! 3Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! 5 For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. (Psalm 100:1-5)

Ryne Sandberg passed away yesterday. He was possibly one of the best second basemen in all of baseball. What made him a standout to me was, after signing a new multimillion dollar contract, he played poorly, and if my memory serves me correctly, he retired because his level of play wasn't up to the standards he had set for himself. I heard him say, "I'm not playing up to the level of pay I'm receiving," in an interview.

That, to me, put him in the "immortal" status because how many players do we see hang one for one more season just to get the chance to break a record or try for one more championship only to suck the life-blood from the organization in terms of pay or performance? He is, in my opinion, as good as Joe Morgan and made it to the Hall of Fame. He played the game on his terms, but he was a team player to the end. He was his own man, who put the team first.

Ultimately, though, we are God's. God made us as the author of today's psalm states. In this prayer of thanksgiving, a brief and succinct prayer, we celebrate this status of being a creation of God's by raising a song, a "joyful noise." When we leave this life and enter into eternal rest with Him, we enter through the gates with praise and thanksgiving. Until then, we enter into worship, into His sanctuary, to praise Him.

Pray with me: Gracious Father, you are indeed good, all the time. Our love for you is incomparable to your love for us, and for that, we give you thanks and praise. Amen