Skip to main content

The Law


The law of the Lord is perfect,
    refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
    making wise the simple.
 The precepts of the Lord are right,
    giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
    giving light to the eyes.
 The fear of the Lord is pure,
    enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
    and all of them are righteous. (Psalm 19:7-9)

          We all struggle against God’s Law because we are all fallen creatures. We cannot do otherwise except by the grace of God. I understand that, but a lot of people really struggle against God’s Law. There seems to be this notion that God arbitrarily made up ten (or six-hundred thirteen) laws and sits waiting for someone to disobey one of them like someone fishing watches a bobber or the tip of the pole. 
          Those same folks don’t feel as much moral outrage at God for laws like gravity, motion, or thermodynamics. We may bluster a little, but generally speaking, we accept that those are the way it is and adapt our behavior to them. I am not fond of His laws dealing with the storage of unused biological fuel, but what would it do to animals that hibernate if their bodies didn’t store fat?
          In America’s Blessings, Professor Rodney Stark shared the results of his research with regard to religion in the United States. He estimates that the savings to the American people as a result of even imperfect obedience to “religious laws” is at least $2.6 trillion dollars a year. 
          Yes, especially in the Old Testament, there are laws whose purpose seems to be little more than making “us” different from “them,” but as Jesus said, the vast majority of them render down to what Jesus described as the most important law, loving God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths, and loving  our neighbor as ourselves.
          Those who reject the idea of God seem to enjoy coming up with their own versions of the Ten Commandments. Check out this website: https://atheism.wikia.org/wiki/Ten_Commandment_Alternatives. Consider their laws. How many of them boil down to loving/obeying the universe, the state, or whatever it is  they’ve put in place of God and loving our neighbors as ourselves. They may reject Jesus, but ultimately, they come as close as they can to agreeing. In other words, even though they reject God, they acknowledge that His laws are good. So why not just admit it?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more