Logical and Loving Limits
If we are honest with ourselves, there are times throughout our Christian lives when we look upon the laws of God as binding and confining—like shackles that impede our freedom. But the longer one walks with God, the more one comes to understand that all of God’s laws are both logical and loving.
For us today, the Law of God is found within the Ten Commandments. When you meditate on these commands one by one, you begin to see the logic behind the “Thou shalt nots.” They are in no way arbitrary, as though God simply plucked them out of thin air. They are rooted in His great wisdom and given to protect His children from harm and danger. It also becomes clear that He gives us these commands because He loves us and longs to keep us safe.
No one in their right mind would fault a parent for warning a child not to touch a hot stove or not to play in a busy street. We naturally recognize those admonitions as logical and loving. And as soon as that child touches the hot stove, he, too, will understand perfectly.
Twice in Proverbs we are warned, “Do not move the ancient landmark” (Proverbs 22:28; 23:10). The famed British journalist G. K. Chesterton once wrote, “Don’t ever move a fence until you understand why it was put there in the first place.”
We live in a day and age bent on tearing down the ancient landmarks and barriers established through the Ten Commandments. But why are they there? Because they make sense. Why have they been given? Because God loves us. When we come to understand that the limitations God places upon our lives are both logical and loving, we will then be able to obey His commandments with joy.
Last night, while reading, I came across a definition of obedience that I have not been able to shake. It comes from a man named Ted Tripp: “Obedience is the willing submission of my heart to God that causes me to do what God has commanded without challenge, excuse, or delay.”
When I do not embrace the truth that all of God’s laws are both logical and loving, I will find myself challenging, excusing, or delaying my obedience to Him. Lord, forgive me when I fail to embrace the truth that Your laws have been given for my protection, through Your love, so that my joy may be made full.