While reading C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity I came upon a familiar thought. That Christianity is the simplest most complex thing I have ever tried to understand. Even trying to understand it is confusing, because I know that I will never fully understand it, and this is not suppose to deter me from giving up. Lewis says that real things are not simple. He uses a table as an example. The table to us is just wood and screws, but to a chemist who can break it down into it's molecular structure realizes how complex that table actually is.
Matthew 22:36 is when Jesus says the greatest commandments. They seem so simple at first. To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. But when you stop and really look at these, it is easy to see that all of the Laws of the Prophets hang on these two laws.
In order to truly love God with our hearts, soul, and minds; then those aspects of our lives (and even our strength form Deuteronomy) need to be used to their fullest to love God. If that is our main goal, our chief end, then we will search the Bible for it's truth, then live as it commands. We will be able to see the law as David did when he wrote so many of the Psalms, like 119:97 says, "Oh, how I love your Law! I meditate on it all day long." And this is just one example of the love of God's law we should have.
But the best and most confusing part is that God doesn't want us to live by the law, because it's the law. He wants us to live by it soly because we love Him. We don't have to worry about following every single law. But our focus should be on God, and seeking and loving Him. Then following the Law will come secondary. It is there to guide us into a deeper relationship with God, not force us into a deeper relationship with God.
However, the problem is when people stop seeking God. They stick with milk when there is solid food right in front of them. Ignorance is not bliss. Yet your conscious won't feel so bad when you don't understand your not following God's law, but at the same time your not following God's law. Lewis talks about a child who says a prayer. It is a simple prayer, but there is much more to it. If we remain like a child in this instance and never understand the meaning of the prayer then we are a waste. But if we develop our understanding, how much deeper the prayer then becomes, and then deeper our relationship with God becomes.
"Oh, how I love your law!"
"It's there to guide us into a deeper relationship with God, not force us into one." Great point Bobby. It's easy to feel like God's Word & Laws are there to force us to draw close and rely on them. It's refreshing to think of it as us being allowed or guided into one. Thanks for your thoughts!
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