By Jenni Ingram
Member, First Baptist Church, Gantt
I was thinking about rules this morning and things I had read and heard in the last few days.
This led to a natural progression to thinking about the Ten Commandments — remember them? If you need a reminder look up Exodus 20; they are all written for you there.
Everything in this world has rules and in order to honor God we must obey them. Even Jesus talked about the law. He told audiences that He has not come to earth to get rid of the law and all rules. He said, “I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matt. 5:17).
He even clarified this later in the Gospel of Matthew when the disciples asked Him, “Teacher which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus answered them, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:36–39).
We are to love God with everything we are and over and above anything or anyone. How do we show this love?
Even Scripture answers that question for us in 1 John 5:3: “In fact this is love for God: to keep His commands.”
There are many more commands in Scripture and it is impossible for us to obey them all. That is why I personally am thankful for Jesus who loves us so much that He will forgive us whenever we fail Him.
I also am thankful for Philippians 4:13: “I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.”
We cannot pick and choose which part of the Bible to obey. He loves us with an irreplaceable dedication. Shouldn’t we do the same for Him?
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