Christopher Campbell

How shall a young man cleanse his way?
By keeping to your words.

Beloved in the body of Christ,

I have recently found myself recalling my past, and the path that continues to lead me toward true faith. Every young person discovering their path toward faith is, necessarily, met with stumbling blocks. What today's psalm reminds me of is the drive that pushed me past my stumbling blocks.

With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not stray from your commandments.

I spent so much of my life seeking my self and, as a result, I not only ignored who I was but also what built me.

I treasure your promise in my heart,
that I may not sin against you.

I often went to such an excellent extent of trying to "discover myself" that i betrayed who I actually was.

Blessed are you, O Lord;
instruct me in your statutes.

I not only ignored what my intuition instructed me to be true, but would often force myself to believe that these truths were false.

With my lips will I recite
all the judgments of your mouth.

I remember saying that "if God would dare judge me harshly I would rather burn in Hell than worship him!"

I have taken greater delight in the way of your decrees
than in all manner of riches.

I knew that the only way I could become truly myself was to make myself in my own image.

I will meditate on your commandments 
and give attention to your ways.

I had to make my own commandments and force myself to follow them.

My delight is in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.

I was a miserable wreck, and I could not understand why. I was becoming a "self-made man.”

This meditation is perhaps written with the idea of a "young man" in mind. But I feel it is not written for a "young man" as much as from the understanding of a "young man.”

I have seen both much and nothing, I have loved many and few, I am young and old, I know what I am but not who I am. The one thing I have come to understand is that I am a merely a man and, as such, am only sustained through God, not my self. For the self is that which needs to be cleansed.

May you live in Truth, Peace, and Love,
—Chris Campbell