“ . . . You still lack one thing . . ." Luke 18:22
We've been studying the ten commandments. Great. I remember as a young person telling someone about the church I was going to. She asked, as if verifying whether the place was really a church, “Do they believe in the Ten Commandments?” (Just the way she said it, I could tell the initials were capitalized.) In my usual nonplussed manner, I stammered an answer in the affirmative.
The Ten Commandments. The Big Ones. Keep'em and you're "in like Flynn," home free, heading for the Big Town. That's what Jesus told the Rich Young Ruler (or the RYR, as I like to call him) in Luke 18. So that must be God's Gold Standard, right?
Are we kidding? Don't kill each other? Don't take anyone else's stuff? And while you're at it, don't take anyone else's spouse either. Pretty please? That's the benchmark???
In his brilliant book, An Unstoppable Force, Erwin McManus says:
The RYR tried that approach. Even though he claimed to have followed all the commandments (a lie, thus breaking the 9th commandment, too) he was told by Jesus that he had to do one more teensy little thing. Not much, really. Just give away everything he owned. (Incidentally, although most believe that command was for the RYR alone, Jesus asks it of all of us. Nothing we have is ours. He wants everything from us. Anything less is beneath His true standard.)
That's why Jesus had to expound on the commandments so often. So that we would know that keeping the letter of the law was not sufficient. Not even close. And that's why we've looked at them this summer. So we can try to understand what God is really asking of us. Once we're cool with them being out of reach, needing and asking for Christ's forgiveness and help, we can get on with trying to live their true meaning through His power and grace.
Pray: Merciful God, forgive me for being satisfied living here in the dregs at the bottom of life's barrel. You have so much more for me. By the power of your Son Jesus, I pray that I would live, not just above the level of the animals, but closer to the level of the heavenly beings, honoring you and reflecting your glory. Amen.
We've been studying the ten commandments. Great. I remember as a young person telling someone about the church I was going to. She asked, as if verifying whether the place was really a church, “Do they believe in the Ten Commandments?” (Just the way she said it, I could tell the initials were capitalized.) In my usual nonplussed manner, I stammered an answer in the affirmative.
The Ten Commandments. The Big Ones. Keep'em and you're "in like Flynn," home free, heading for the Big Town. That's what Jesus told the Rich Young Ruler (or the RYR, as I like to call him) in Luke 18. So that must be God's Gold Standard, right?
Are we kidding? Don't kill each other? Don't take anyone else's stuff? And while you're at it, don't take anyone else's spouse either. Pretty please? That's the benchmark???
In his brilliant book, An Unstoppable Force, Erwin McManus says:
The Ten Commandments are the lowest possible standard of humane living . . . Why don't we get it? Anything below these standards is choosing to live like an animal, a barbarian. The Ten Commandments don't call us to the extraordinary spiritual life; they call us to stop dehumanizing one another. The law is theIf we try to “live up to” the Ten Commandments, we're throwing in the towel. We're bottom feeding. It's the equivalent of the “wrong question” that Rev. Greer several weeks ago said is often asked by dating couples: “How far can we go?” Instead, it's, “How much can we get away with and still get into heaven?”
minimum of what it means to be human.
The RYR tried that approach. Even though he claimed to have followed all the commandments (a lie, thus breaking the 9th commandment, too) he was told by Jesus that he had to do one more teensy little thing. Not much, really. Just give away everything he owned. (Incidentally, although most believe that command was for the RYR alone, Jesus asks it of all of us. Nothing we have is ours. He wants everything from us. Anything less is beneath His true standard.)
That's why Jesus had to expound on the commandments so often. So that we would know that keeping the letter of the law was not sufficient. Not even close. And that's why we've looked at them this summer. So we can try to understand what God is really asking of us. Once we're cool with them being out of reach, needing and asking for Christ's forgiveness and help, we can get on with trying to live their true meaning through His power and grace.
Pray: Merciful God, forgive me for being satisfied living here in the dregs at the bottom of life's barrel. You have so much more for me. By the power of your Son Jesus, I pray that I would live, not just above the level of the animals, but closer to the level of the heavenly beings, honoring you and reflecting your glory. Amen.
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