In yesterday' blog, I used the analogy of The B I B L E as "a rule book for right living," Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth. But, as I sat with the words of Jesus this morning, and re-read the Sermon on the Mount, (Mat., Chapter 5), I was compelled to add that the Bible is so much more than instructions or rules for winning the game of life . . . so very much more!
Jesus told us He IS Life: The Way, The Truth, The Life are found IN Him.
When you read the Bible, meditate on His Words, and allow them to permeate your soul, you find that you WANT to be different. You want your life to look more life HIS LIFE, not because of fear; but because of love. The "be causes" become different; because of Him.
The 10 Commandments, given from God to Moses, are still valid. Murder, stealing, cheating, are still grievous sins; but now it is not so much punishment; or fear of getting caught, that drives your thinking. It's not even about going to heaven or hell anymore. For me, when I think about Jesus, I just want to be like Him. I want to see the world through His Eyes, and treat people like He did.
Just after speaking the beautiful words of The Beatitudes, Jesus explains that He did not come "to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them." (Mat 5:17). Jesus does not negate the Old Testament... He takes it further... He fulfills it! Jesus told his followers that if they could follow 2 rules: Love God; and Love others, then all the other rules would automatically be adhered to. And, He has equipped us and given us the gift of The Holy Spirit to guide us. His love lives inside of believers, we can access His Supernatural Strength when we are tempted, rather than simply trying to adhere to a list of rules.
How often we wander off, how continually His love pulls us back.
It's not rules that bring us back, it is the love of Jesus displayed as He willingly stretched out his hands, one to the right, one to the left, and allowed them to be nailed to a cross for us, so that daily we could look up in our mind's eye and see His Love displayed for us.
Yes, the be causes are different now... because He fulfilled the law, paid for us with His Blood. He signed, sealed, and delivered us, now we are His.
This rule book for Christ-followers, the B I B LE, is more than a set of "do's & don'ts." It is actually a love story, a Chronology of the love between Holy God and fallen man. A way that we can find TRUTH in the unchanging God-breathed Words of Scripture.
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