Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night. – Psalm 1:1-2
You may have noticed that Camp DeWolfe has had a lot of media going up over the past couple of weeks.*** Anyone who has ever worked with media and the visual arts knows the term “framing.” Wikipedia defines framing in the visual arts as “a technique used to bring the focus to the subject.” Framing is how one uses all of the stuff; the setting of a photo or video, the lighting, the macro setting on a camera, the focus and zoom; to bring attention to the one thing in the shot that really matters.
That is how I’ve always thought about and understood the first two verses of the Psalms. Happy are those who don’t follow the wicked, but delight in the “Law of the Lord,” and meditate on it day and night. At the time that the Psalm was written, the “Law of the Lord” would have referred to the Torah, the Scripture of the Jewish community. A happy person meditates on Scripture day an night!
Why do you think the Psalmist says this? You see, framing is vital for our lives as well as for the visual arts. If we meditate day and night on the Scripture it helps to put everything else into focus. The Scripture itself is not the subject of our lives, but rather living for God in our daily struggles and joys. Starting and ending every day with Scripture simply helps to draw attention to God as the subject of our lives.
As we start this new season; as the days become comfortable and the nights chilly; as we go back to school and work after a summer of fun and adventure; consider framing every day with Scripture. Some mornings you may sleep in and not have much time. That’s okay! Read a single verse and think about it as you shower and get ready for your day. Some nights you may come home exhausted and fall asleep with a Bible on your chest. Great! You fell asleep meditating on the “law of the Lord”! I think you will find that even a small change in how you frame your day will draw your attention to the subject of our lives; living for the Father, in the grace of the Son, and through the power of the Holy Spirit!
Peace of Christ,
Nathan W. Saccol
Program Director
***If you haven’t seen them yet, check out our Summer Camp Videos and our new virtual tours of Meeting Spaces, Accommodations, and Davis Hall/ Food Service.