I am struggling to answer when people ask what are some of the action items or list of things that we can do as a take away from reading particular scripture verses. Should we pray more often? Should we help the poor? Should we honour our parents? Should we read the word more? etc. YES! n No! All of the above. But Why?
The reason I struggle to give straight answer is because I feel it will completely miss the mark, and I’ve been led down that path before. It’s that I used to look at scriptures as collections of dos and don’ts; but it’s more than that. Took me a long time to really come to terms with grace and to understand that transformation really starts when it originate from the heart as a response to a profound realization.
As I am sitting here pondering for this post, I can’t help but hearing the voice of the Phrisees asking what the greatest commandment is; and the resonse “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
I realized that it takes so little for us to start this journey and it isn’t complicated, but rather basic – to accept God to be God of our lives.
Everything then begin to flow from that -
- Our identity is sure again
- We surrender the life that we never really had control over
- Future is decided
- Clothed with His righteousness
- Approved, no more trying to seek approval from God nor people
- We are broken free from sin’s grip
- Sanctification starts to move our hearts and desires to be aligned with His
- Things we do, we do out of worship
- Mind is renewed
- We begin to do things that resonates with Jesus
- Love flows
- Filled with Joy and Peace
- We find His perfect law, perfect. Not cumbersome.
The list can go on and on. Yes, the scripture covers multitudes of dos and don’ts, but those are all written on our hearts. As long as our hearts are in the right place, everything else be aligned with it, the do-s will follow. When we try to focus on the do-s before addressing the core, it’s merely an outward performance. It sure didn’t last long for me. In days or weeks, the ‘chore’ became so annoying and burdensome that something else takes over.
But the truth sounds so easy doesn’t it? So simple. But it is simple. It’s a gift, grace, mercy.
I am reminded over and over again by this comment “Wanting God to be God is very different from wanting God to help you”. The difference is that one – God is in the center. The other, you are the center.
Filed under: Christianity
I was reflecting today – if we obey laws for the sake of obeying without understanding in our hearts why it is that we are obeying or the reason for the law in the first place, we are just going through the motions and God sees right through our Do’s and Don’ts straight to our heart. Even if we obey, our hearts our in the wrong place.
Also it makes me reflect on the movie we were watching – Religulous – and how the Jews create Kosher tools to help them “bypass” or “workaround” the law of the Sabbath. And i think… they don’t get it. Wasn’t God’s reason and heart behind the law of the Sabbath to give us a day of rest – something that he knows we need and something for our own good? Also a day to reflect on our relationship with Him? Instead, it becomes overly complicated and instead of allowing us to realign and refocus on God, people think of ways to design equipment and tools to still keep the law according to the exact letter of the law, but then the heart is entirely in the wrong place.
That was a huge ‘ah-ha’! moment for me there because how often do I remember that a law prohibits me to do something but then I scheme up ways to work around it – ie. to get what i want while still staying within the letter of the law? Too often i say, too often.