DO WHAT I SAY...because I love you...

It's amazing what a new perspective does on things you grew up on and know so well that you don't even consider them anymore.

I now know that Christianity is more than a list of do's and don'ts. I know that now. Of course, I did not know that or was told that growing up. And to some degree I can see what my pastors and parents were thinking. Here we have a child or a teenager who can get into all sorts of trouble, so let's tell him all these rules so that he won't mess up his life and do something he would regret or make our lives more difficult.

I can understand that to some degree, or let me say that I can appreciate that on some level.

There are a lot of DO THIS and DON'T DO THAT in the Bible, and it's easy to see how someone on the outside sees us straight-laced Christians with our book of rules and sees nothing compelling. I can understand and appreciate that.

But I have seen more and more recently people who have gone through some tough life stuff due to the sin in the life of those around them and I have seen them see these rules in a different light.

Luke 6:46-49 tells the story of Jesus describing what it is like if you do what he says and what life is like if you don't do what he says. He says that if you do what he says, your life will be like a man who built his house on rock and if you don't do what he says, your life will be like a man who built his house on sand and when a storm comes, your house is a goner.

I even remember singing a song in Sunday School...
Wise man built his house upon the rock...
And the rains came tumbling down.
The rains came down and the floods came up...
And the house on the rock stood firm.
The foolish man built his house upon the sand...
And the rains come tumbling down.
The rains came down and the floods came up...
And the house on the sand went...SPLAT!
I used to love screaming the splat and making a big motion with my arms. That was cool.

For some reason, I got the impression that if I obeyed God, He would take care of me. If I disobeyed God, he would punish me by destroying my house with a lot of rain (remember Noah?).

But now that I have been taught and understand the notion of grace, I see things differently. Now when I read that passage, I see Jesus in a different light.

Luke 6:46- "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?"

When I used to picture Jesus saying those words it was with a furrowed brow and angry voice, maybe frustrated and ready to let them have it.

Now when I read that with the glasses of grace on, I see Jesus frustrated but He is frustrated because He loves us so much. He wants our life on earth to be as beautiful and fulfilling as it can be. He wants us to have life and have it abundantly. Note I did not say easy. In his parable, storms do some and according to the song, the floods will come up. He wants us to have a solid foundation and not have a life that can be destroyed. I have seen too many of my friends lives destroyed due to sin. I have seen more tears shed and screaming out to God over the consequences of sin than I have sicknesses and deaths.

He wants us to obey His commandments and do what he says to do because he is smarter than us and wants our lives to be solid and not so subject to the waves and storms of life that will come.

He really does love us. God is not trying to control us, but is trying to give us some guidelines to to live our lives by because He knows what He is doing and I don't.