God is known in her palaces for a refuge. — Psalm 48:3
There are a lot of people who will claim that a reputation is not important. You have probably heard statements like, “I don’t care what anyone thinks about me.” Various media will attempt to sway our opinion of others. They tell us people like this are good or those that do this are bad. People are paying attention to everyone and forming opinions about who they are.
We certainly do not live our lives for everyone around us, but what others think of us is something we should care about. We certainly would not want our name to be confused with that of someone who is a murderer. We would fight to clear our name from that accusation. We want our name to be counted with those who are not guilty of such a crime.
Our verse in Psalm 48 today shares that God is known as a refuge in her palaces. He was referring to the city of Jerusalem in this verse and talking about how the city knew God and all that He had done for the people. God had a reputation among the people. It seems there are two important thoughts from this verse that we can reflect on today.
First, what is the reputation of God that we are sharing among those around us? Are we sharing how He is a loving God who cares for His children? Those around us are developing an opinion of God based on how we represent Him. The things we say about Him are telling others things about our God and developing His reputation for those who may not know Him personally.
But that brings us to the second point. Not only is it what we say, but it’s also how we act. We not only represent God in the things we say but in all that we do. As we claim the name of Christian, are we representing God in a way that points others to our God and our Savior? Or are we tarnishing His reputation? Everything we say and do tells a story about our God. What story are you telling?