Rediscovering the Beauty of the Law
For many of us, the idea of “law” and “grace” has become a dichotomy, where one is seen as opposing the other. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, God’s law and grace have always coexisted, and understanding this is crucial for building a strong relationship with Him.
The Misconception of Lawlessness
We often view the law as a barrier to our relationship with God, rather than seeing it as a means to deepen our connection with Him. This misconception has led to a culture of lawlessness, where we believe that rules prevent relationship. But what if the opposite were true? What if the law was actually a means to enable our relationship with God and others?
The Ten Commandments: A Guide to Life-Giving Wisdom
Jen Wilkin invites us to rediscover the Ten Commandments, often misunderstood or ignored, and to delight in the life-giving wisdom they hold for all who have been set free in Christ. These commandments are not meant to restrict us, but to guide us in living rightly oriented to God and others.
The Beauty of Lawfulness
While legalism is a blight, lawfulness is a blessed virtue. We should love the law because we love Jesus, and because Jesus loved the law. The Pharisees were not lovers of the law, but lovers of self, twisting the law for their own ends. True lawfulness is about loving and obeying the law out of a heart of devotion to God.
The Ten Words: Encouraging Words of Hope
The Ten Commandments are encouraging words, meant to give us hope – hope that we will live rightly oriented to God and others, hope that we will grow in holiness. They are not given to discourage, but to delight. They are words of life, but only for those who have been joined to Christ through faith.
Lawfulness is Christlikeness
To obey the law is to look like Jesus Christ. While legalism builds self-righteousness, lawfulness builds righteousness. Obedience to the law is the means of sanctification for the believer. We serve the risen Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.
Obedience that Pleases God
Obedience that pleases God begins in the heart. The Ten Commandments, once carved in stone at Sinai, are now carved on our hearts, powerful to transform us. The beauty of their commands lives on from generation to generation in the hearts of God’s people, setting us apart as strangers in a strange land.
Conclusion
The law is not a barrier to our relationship with God, but a means to deepen our connection with Him. May it be said of us that our meditative delight was in the law of the Lord. May it be said of us that in thought, word, and deed, we remembered to delight in the beauty of the law.
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