I personally like rules. I like boundaries in all areas of my life. I like to know where I can stop mowing, for instance. I like that, in the US at least, my property boundaries not only tell me where I can freely roam, but they also tell others where they legally cannot. I have personal boundaries, as do each of us and all of us. I’ve lost 70 pounds over time simply by imposing boundaries. “I’ve reached my limit for carbs today” is a boundary I choose. Maybe someone who is an athlete doesn’t need those boundaries, but for my well-being, I need them because I’d really rather sit and write than spend time in the gym. I set rules for others, boundaries of expectations born out of relationship status. For example, I don’t expect the young woman who bags my groceries to come to dinner without invitation and thank me for preparing the meal, but my daughter has always been taught to be thankful from a young age, and she has done that so well that I would be surprised if she didn’t thank me for dinner. It’s relationship.
So when I realized decades ago that God has rules, I was okay with that. I expected it and when I accepted Jesus as Savior, I also accepted Him as Lord. “Lord” implies there will be rules and He will set them. And American religion has done well over time teaching us that these rules are in place to make us worthy of the love of God, to earn us the right to petition Him for our needs, and some day, if we follow them all (Well, except that one about gluttony, we religious folks think we get a free pass on that one) we will get our ticket to heaven stamped and go on in to meet the ones who have gone on before. Religion has us following rules for now in the hope that in our future we will be given the goal, that is, an eternity in heaven. Ironically, although heaven is not the final destination for believers, that seems to be the only place most of us think about.
Somewhere in all those rules for holy living…and let me be clear. God is Holy and told us to be holy…something gets left out in our finite Christian minds. Parenthood should prepare us for the relationship God paid to give us and longs to have with us. He is Father. Fatherhood implies that He is protector, provider, defender, teacher and Dad. As parents ourselves, we told our children not to ride their bikes in the section of road with a blind hill. That was a rule born out of a loving relationship. The rule was not put in place just so the child could obey the rule, thereby earning the reward that comes from obedience. No, that rule was put in place so we didn’t scrape our child’s dead body off the pavement when a Ford F150 came over the hill at 50 mph. (I’m not known for subtlety and most of the time bluntness serves me well.)
If you examine God’s rules, they all serve a purpose. Why not commit adultery? Because it’s self-focused, hurts others, destroys families and dishonors God’s call to be holy. Why not want what your neighbor has? Because it makes you dissatisfied and rots your soul. Envy is not a motivator. It is a soul destruction, a lie of the enemy, an open door to misery. “Where envy and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work”, the Bible tells us. And so it is with every rule God has. They are there for our good and were never intended to see if we could follow them all. We all need a Savior. And our Father provided one. His rules are there…for our continued success, learned during our ongoing relationship with Him. They provide no motivation for God to love us. They are there because He loves us.
And as a person who finds security in rules, a plan of action as a result of rules, and a sense of accomplishment for following rules…God gave one that I have long taken on with a full, well- intentioned heart to obey and an unbalanced view.
“Submit yourself to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Submit.yourself.to.God. “Whatever you want, Lord, I will do it.” I said. The other day, He spoke to my spirit. He let me know that He sees my heart to obey. That He loves my heart to obey. And then I was stunned as He showed me that I eagerly submit to what He tells me to do and that’s good. But I sometimes do a lousy, lousy job of submitting to the love of God when it comes to ‘just be’. As in, ‘just be loved’. As in “Be still and KNOW” Be still and know…that He is Protector. Defender. Provider. That He is Dad. That He comes to me with assurance for me that everything has been done that needs to be done. That He has already provided all penalty for the sin that separated us and now I don’t have to measure up (not that I could anyway). He wants me to enjoy being His kid. His beloved daughter that has to do absolutely nothing to earn His love. He doesn’t love me back. He loved me first.
He calls us to submit to Him as the Dad we run to so that He can fix our ‘boo boo” because by His stripes we are healed. Submit to Him as Lord because He holds all wisdom. Submit to Him as Daddy because we know He is happy to see us. “He rejoices over me with singing”. He calls us to submit to Him in trust. “If you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these things will be added unto you.” He calls us to submit to His goodness and live with Him in confidence. Confidence in His love for us.
You know what it looks like. It’s the way the three year old runs into your open arms with a smile on their face because you are their safety, you are the one who they know loves them. You see their joy as they look at you and see your joy for them. They don’t run toward you bearing a list of all the good things they’ve done since you saw them last. They run toward you to receive the love you have for them. They submit to you by running to you. Running into the relationship. Then they obey you out of that relationship. Love breeds a willingness to please, and we act on that.
In God’s view, we are not the stranger bagging our groceries who doesn’t approach us without an invitation to dine. We are His beloved children for whom He has already provided the meal…even if some days we forget to thank Him.
For His Glory 