A Treasured Possession

The LORD has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands.
-Deuteronomy 26:18

What are we to do with all of God's commandments in the Bible? That is a question the Church has always struggled to answer and though we've come up with answer I believe that most of those answers are anything but satisfactory.

Most Christians come down somewhere between two extremes. The first says, don't worry so much about the dos and don'ts of the Bible. After all, we're under grace. The second says do whatever you have to to obey. Beat yourself into submission if that's what it takes. After all, God said what He said and He meant it.

There's plenty of middle ground, but if we're honest I think most of us would admit we lean towards one or the other of those extremes.

Thank God there's another option! Thank God He intended us, and His commands, for something better!

Take a look again at the verse at the beginning of this post but this time realize the context. God has just finished reviewing His law with His people before they enter the promised land and in this passage specifically He's explaining how important it is that they do what He has told them to do.

And in the midst of that He says to them, "You are mine. My treasured possession." Think about that for a moment. Those words change everything. They turn our whole preconceived notion of morality and God's commandments on its head.

To the first extreme and those who lean in that direction, how can you say don't worry about what God said to do and not to do? You are His treasured possession and He would not see you degraded and destroyed through sin. To the second extreme and those who lean towards it, how can you say we should beat ourselves submission? We are God's treasured possession. Don't we deserve better than that? The purpose of God's law is not to beat us down but to lift us up.

We need to remember that the story of the Gospel, the story God has been telling since the beginning of the world, is a love story. It's the story of God's love for His creation, a Father's love for His children, a Bridegroom's love for His bride. It is our birthright, our purpose, to live as God's treasured possession.

If we could live like that, live knowing who and what we were made for, it would change everything. Maybe then we'd be able to see that we were always meant, and are supposed to approach God's law from a place of life, passion and love.

The First and Greatest Commandment

One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.

-Matthew 22:35-38

This week, as I've been preparing to go to Colorado, I've been spending some time asking God what He wants for me in this trip and what my role in that is. It's been a tough and busy week. Most weeks before a trip usually are, but this week has been different. There's been a ton of warfare raging around this trip (let me again say how desperately I need your prayers over these next four days). On one hand, the battle is encouraging because it tells me God has some awesome plans for the trip. It wouldn't be this opposed otherwise. But even with that hope in mind, I find myself getting buried in the battle. Like Peter walking on the water, my focus slowly drifts from the Master to the waves and I find myself adrift in moments when I need to be clinging to Jesus.

I intentionally took some time this afternoon both to take a break from the busyness and warfare and to just to spend time with God. As we were talking about the trip I heard God telling me that what He wanted from me this weekend was to honor Him and remain faithful and that what He wanted to do was care for my heart and lead me into a deeper life. As I began to think of how those things work together, this passage from Matthew came into my mind.

How easily we lose sight of what Jesus is trying to tell us in this passage. To really understand it we need to remember that the goal of all of God's commandments, of true holiness, is life. What Jesus is saying is that the first and foremost way we are to find life is by passionately loving God and entering into an intimate relationship with Him.

When I first God tell me to be faithful and honor Him, I immediately began to worry and wonder if those were areas I'm failing in. What I heard God say about that was that He wasn't telling me those things to point out failure but to let me know how He wants to be loved by me this weekend. So often I get words like that and I descend into shame and beating myself up in the ways I've fallen short of what God's telling me. And while there certainly is a place for God's gentle and loving correction when we steer of course, I believe that often times when He says these things He's not trying to point out a flaw but to draw us deeper into intimacy with Him.

Fulfilling this first and greatest commandment is not a one way street. It is not only me loving God with all of my heart, soul and mind; it is Him loving me with all of His heart, soul and mind. All of God's commandments are invitations into intimacy and this one above all. It is a command not only to be loved but to also receive love.

I've mentioned before that I really believe this weekend is going to be a milestone moment in my life. It's going to be a big step deeper into Aslan's Country. But the foundation of that has got to be this intimacy with God. The warfare is raging and it will continue to do so all weekend. I can't back down from that battle but I also can't afford to take my eyes off Jesus even (especially!) in the midst of a storm. God's invitation to love and be loved has brought me back to center and so long as I stay there my heart is ready for what He has for me this weekend. Please pray for me. I can't wait to get back and share what He's done!