His Commandments

I’ve come to the last chapter of 1 John in my lectio divina study, and here’s what stands out for me:

“…his commandments are not burdensome.” 1 John 5:3b

Many worldly people believe that to become a Christian, to submit to God’s will, would impact their life in a negative way. How boring to spend free time reading the Bible, praying, and going to worship services! How dull to be barred from behaviors that our society considers acceptable! Life would not be fun at all!

When our children were young, we tried to stress the truth that following God’s rules was not meant to be a punishment, but would make our lives easier. We might miss out on some momentary “fun” but the rewards were far more important. We would have better relationships, a support group in our church family, peace during difficult circumstances, and more. Better yet, at the end of our lives, we would not have too many regrets.

In the book of Matthew Christ tells us:

“ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

That yoke is really simple, in fact it boils down to one word: love. Love God and love one another. The more you practice love, the easier it will be. And the rewards are great.

²³For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our LORD.” Romans 6:23

For more about obedience see these posts:

A Long Obedience In the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson — Book Review

Walking in Obedience

Obedience?

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Truthful Words

The Bible tells us in many places to avoid lying. It’s one of the Ten Commandments–

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” Exodus 20:16

It’s also mentioned in the book of Proverbs…

“Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.” Proverbs 12:22

and in the New Testament as well.

“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Ephesians 4:25

Here’s a quote from my devotional reading that explains how to avoid this particular sin:

“It seems to me, that the shortest way to check the darker forms of deceit is to set watch more scrupulous against those which have mingled, unregarded and unchastised with the current of our life. Do not let us lie at all. Do not think of one falsity as harmless, and another as slight, and another as unintended. Cast them all aside; they may be light and accidental; but they are an ugly soot from the smoke of the pit, for all that; and it is better that our hearts should be swept clean of them, without over care as to which is largest or blackest. Speaking truth is like writing fair, and comes only by practice; it is less a matter of will than of habit, and I doubt if any occasion can be trivial which permits the practice and formation of such a habit.“

John Ruskin

Of course, keep in mind that speaking the truth is not to be used as an excuse for hurting others with comments that are overly blunt or even cruel. Paul also tells us to speak the truth “in love”(Ephesians 4:15) and Peter exhorts us to use “gentleness and respect.”(1 Peter:3:15).

Use words that are both truthful and loving. Make this your habit.

Family Faith

I wrote this article for our denomination’s publication, The Lutheran Ambassador.  It appeared in this month’s issue (February 2019) and I thought I would also share it here.  It deals with passing the faith on to our children.

People need structure.  It gives a sense of security and a framework on which to build and base daily life.  God knew this, and so from the very beginning, He  blessed humankind with a rhythm of life that would shape our relationship with Him.

“… God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation.”  Genesis 2:3

A little later, this becomes one of the Ten Commandments:

“ Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.” Exodus 20:8-10a

When our children were young, Sunday Services were simply a fixture of life.  Sometimes we didn’t feel like getting up; sometimes our daughters were cranky, or somebody didn’t feel so well; sometimes the weather was nasty; still we went, week after week, year after year.  What did our children (and now our grandchild) gain from this dogged persistence? The world might say, not much…. a meaningless ritual!  I beg to disagree and here are a few of my observations.

First of all, they came to understand that God is important, and so is His body, the Church.  The things of faith are not kept in a separate compartment, to be brought out on holidays or special occasions.  They are part of the ebb and flow of daily life.

Through the weekly liturgy, our children internalized the basics of the Christian faith.  They memorized the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostle’s Creed, as well as many passages from the Scripture which we recited or sang every Sunday.  They learned that we need to confess, repent, pray and give thanks regularly.  They learned that our monetary offering gives back to God a small part of what He’s already given to us. I remember hearing our daughters and our nephew “play church” as they sang parts of the service together.

Sunday services also walked us together through the seasons of the church year and the life of Christ.  There were joyous times and sad times, times to reflect and times to anticipate.  Each season had its’ own particular music and rituals. Advent meant lighting the advent candles and singing “O Come, O Come, Emanuel”, Lent was the time when flowers on the altar disappeared and songs became somber (“Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?”)  Easter brought lilies and “Christ the Lord Has Risen Today” along with flowering the cross (made from the church Christmas tree) which had stood, plain and empty in the sanctuary until Easter morning.

To be continued …..

It’s All About Relationships

I remember when our daughters were little, my husband used to tell them, “people are more important than things.”  This lesson usually came about as a way to explain why we need to share with others, behave courteously, keep our promises, etc… Guess what, when you look at the Bible, both New and Old Testaments, our Heavenly Father teaches this, too.

For example, the Ten Commandments are all about relationships.  The first group of commandments tell us what our relationship with God should be like:

1. Don’t put other Gods before the true God
2. Don’t make or worship idols (in case you think this doesn’t apply in modern times think about how we can idolize our possessions, our public standing, our money or even our family).
3. Don’t take God’s name in vain
4. Keep the Sabbath appropriately

Basically respect God and give Him the proper place in your life.

Then we come to the question of how we must treat other people:

1. Honor your parents
2. Don’t commit murder
3. Don’t commit adultery
4. Don’t steal
5. Don’t tell lies about your neighbor (and remember, everyone is your neighbor)
6. Don’t envy and desire what rightfully belongs to another

In other words, we are not to harm others, even with words or thoughts.  We are to respect and honor relationships with our parents, spouse, and everyone else who comes into our life.

In the New Testament, Jesus reinforces the Commandments and takes them a step further when He says:

“You shall love the Lord with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the law and all the prophets.”  Matthew 22:37-40

According to Jesus we are not only to respect God and people.  We are not only to do no harm.  We are to love them.  It all comes back to relationships, and it all comes back to love.

Maintaining the Balance

“And when they had brought them they set them before the council.  And the high priest questioned them saying, ‘We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.’  But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men. The of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.  God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.  And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.'” Acts 5:27-32

In my last post, I wrote about Paul’s instructions in the Book of Romans, advising us to obey the authorities placed over us by God.  We see in the verses about that obedience to other authorities must be balanced with the necessity to place God’s commandments above all others.

Obvious, right?  However, the more I thought about this, the more difficult it became to sort out.  In the instance above, Peter and the apostles were told by an angel to “…stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.”(Acts 5:20).  This is what prompted their willingness to face the consequences(imprisonment, etc.) of disobeying the Jewish authorities to obey God.

Most of us don’t get such concise instructions delivered by angelic visitors.  Our primary source is the Bible.  The Ten Commandments can guide us in many situations:  if our employer tells us to be dishonest in our business practices, we refuse;  if we’re called upon to testify in court, we tell the truth, even if someone in authority tells us to lie.  We wouldn’t renounce our faith, even if we lived in a country where Christianity was a crime.

But then there are other things…. if our government tells us to kill people, we say no, correct? Well….what about soldiers?  Is it acceptable for them to kill the enemy?  And what about the death penalty in certain criminal cases?  Can a Christian agree to this extreme punishment if they are on a jury?  Can they pull the switch to execute someone if it’s part of their job description?

Suppose the government declares something to be legal that many Christians deem morally wrong — abortion,, for example.  What action should we take?  Peaceful demonstration?  Should disruptive or even violent behavior be taken to prevent something God says is wrong? Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran theologian I have quoted often our our blog participated in a plot to assassinate Hitler.  Was he being obedient to God in trying to save innocent lives?  Or disobedient in planning to take a life?  I’m beginning to see why the Jews tried to formulate all those rules to nail down the precise meaning of the commandments!

There is sometimes (maybe more often than we like to admit), a tension between obeying the authorities that God has place over us, and obeying God.  How do we hold both of these  instructions in balance?  I hope some of the other Lutheran lady bloggers and readers will weigh in on this.  I want to hear your thoughts.