Tuesday, 4 September 2012

Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever! – Deuteronomy 5:29


Today’s Scripture Reading (September 4, 2012): Deuteronomy 5

Life is filled with instructions. Everything that we invest into has things that we are supposed to do to maintain them. A car runs best when it is taken back to the dealership for regular maintenance. Expensive jewelry needs to be cleaned and checked on a regular basis. If you have an operation done on your body, there is normally a set of things that you need to do to rehabilitate it and become healthy once again. Instructions reign – if we want to protect what it is that is important to us.

My granddaughter is just starting to go beyond the bottle and start her journey into real food. So she is trying one food at a time (currently she likes pears.) Trying one food at a time is one of the instructions necessary for a healthy life, but it is even more important because she has been born into a family that has a lot of food allergies in its history. As Grandpa, I admit that I am anxious for the day that ice cream is added to the list, but I understand the wisdom of the “one food at a time” approach.

Sometimes we seem to think that God is a bit of a killjoy; that the only purpose that the rules serve is to make sure that we do not have too much fun. But actually it is the reverse. The rules are for no other reason than to make sure that his creation has the ability to make all that they can out of this life. I mean, could you imagine a culture where everyone got the rest that they needed and honored those that went before. One where killing and stealing and lying just was not even considered - a culture where promises were kept and jealousy was unknown. And that is the culture that God intended for us to support and live in.

God’s wish was simple. That the people that he created would respect him enough to follow life’s instructions – and in so doing, that life would go good for them – and for all the children.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 6

No comments:

Post a Comment