“But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly. For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.”
Psalm 1:4-6 NLT
The Psalmist pulls no punches when he considers the behaviour of all those who have no access to the river of life. He defines them as being wicked, like “worthless chaff, scattered by the wind“. For those unaware, chaff is the husk that grows around grain and it is discarded during the winnowing process. It has no human food value and is really of no value at all. In the farming culture of Israel in those days, chaff would have been a well known nuisance to be disposed of. But having defined the status of those who are like trees cut off from the life-giving river, the psalmist goes on to set out their fate. There is a time of judgement coming, he says, and the wicked will be condemned. A stark end for those who have rejected the opportunity to believe in God and follow Him. And to complete the picture, he writes that there will be a time when the sinners will have to be separated from the godly.
We pilgrims know of course about the “White Throne” judgement. Revelation 20:11, “And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide“. A time of judgement is coming for all people and the remainder of Revelation 20 is sobering reading. It was William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, who said, “Most Christians would like to send their recruits to Bible college for five years. I would like to send them to hell for five minutes. That would do more than anything else to prepare them for a lifetime of compassionate ministry”.
We pilgrims have the opportunity to warn those around us of the coming judgement. We have what William Booth called a “compassionate ministry”, as we reach out with the message of hope to a dying generation of people, who will otherwise end up as “worthless chaff” in a place where they don’t want to be.
Dear Father, we pray today for our friends and families who are heading for a lost eternity. Please open doors for us, and lead us to whoever You wish, for us to share Your Good News. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 