As the youngest of four children, I was always the last to experience the privileges that came with growing up. I remember one year waiting impatiently for my birthday—the day I would finally be allowed to have my very own pocketknife. I wanted it right away. I wanted to carve sticks and notch arrows like my older brother could. But my parents were very strict: I had to be old enough, and I also had to be trained through Scouts in how to use knives properly and safely. I knew that my pocketknife privileges would be revoked the first time I failed to abide by the safety rules I learned. I didn’t fully understand why my parents were so serious about these regulations until my neighbour cut his thumb with a pocketknife badly enough to need stitches. After that, I saw the wisdom of my parent’s rules more clearly. Their strictness was protecting me and freeing me to enjoy the benefits of my pocketknife without being hurt by it. I saw that their commands were actually an expression of their love for me.
Have you ever wondered why God includes so many commands in his word? This is why. It’s because he loves us, and wants what is genuinely best for us. He wants us to know how to use our lives, and the world he gave us, and enjoy all of his blessings and benefits without destroying ourselves. This is why the Bible speaks about God’s commands in ways that sometimes seem surprising. They are not seen as limiting and narrow, but the exact opposite:
“I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad.” – Psalm 119:96
Broad commandments? Aren’t rules and regulations restrictive, by definition? In one sense they are. But what are God’s commands restricting us from? Sin, which leads to death (James 1:15). Being restricted from death isn’t so bad, is it? Do we complain when the road has a guard rail to keep us from driving off a cliff? No, because we don’t want the freedom to drive off a cliff. And why would we want the freedom to sin off a cliff? God’s commandments only restrict us from destruction. In following them, we become free to explore the wide, fertile valley of God’s goodness.
“I walk in a wide place because I sought your precepts.” – Psalm 119:45
Obedience is a wide place, an Edenic garden where rich blessings can grow in astonishing abundance—blessings like joy and peace and deep relationships with God and others that are filled with honest, faithful love that chokes out the thorns of pride and sin and selfishness. When our Father gives us commands, he is telling us how to remain in the garden where all of these blessings—and more—grow freely. Why would we ever want to leave such a place? God loves us too much to ignore or affirm choices that he knows will destroy us. Would we really want him to? We may not always understand the logic of his commands, like children don’t always understand their parents rules, but we can trust that our Creator knows what he’s talking about. God is a good Father. His commands do not restrict us from anything good. They free us to live in the wide garden of his generous goodness.
This post was originally published on sethlewis.ie