Last night, it was so easy to sit and really get comfortable, but hard to stay still! I always have my pen and paper handy, but since I get to bring Lynnie along with me on this particular journey, I hadn't been reading for long before I had an 'aha moment' and had to share it with her. Bless her, she has already had these same epiphanies, but she celebrates them with me as if it were something totally new.
So about my aha moment: Jerry brings several key points of the Bible together in chapter 3. In the first chapter, he likened loving God to the first 3 of Moses' 10 commandments. And it is a truly accurate statement to say that if you love God obediently, on purpose, that you can not help but to follow the first 3 commandments. If you love God, you will not put others before Him. If you love God, you will not use His name in vain. If you love God, you will not build up false idols to worship. In chapter 2, he discusses the new commandment that Jesus gave, and that is to love your brother as you love yourself. The remaining 7 commandments cover that nicely: if you love your brother, you won't lie, murder, covet, etc. I have always had problems with the verse (forgive me for being foggy on it's location) that tells us that if you keep all the laws, but fall short in one area, then you are guilty of all. Thanks to Jerry's insight on how the commandments Jesus gave apply, it finally dawned on me. It really doesn't matter whether I kill you or lie to you, either way, I have failed to love you, and that is God's will. Aha! That's how God sees all sin as equal! It is not that we are just failing to be honest, or that we envy. His point was that we aren't loving each other as He loved us, as He commands us to love!
I am quite thrilled with myself to have finally figured out what the Lord was telling us when He said all sin is equal in his eyes. And it truly makes a difference in how I see not only Scripture, but how I see my own actions. And love IS an action. The human emotion of love is not rational, but God's definition is inerrant. Every phrase he uses to define love takes a conscious effort on our part. We must be kind. We must be patient. We must be honest; we must not be rude. So, as Dr. Corbaley's book has helped me to realize, every day, in every action, we make the choice whether to love or not to love. And with practice, that action will become habit. It is a habit I strive to learn, and I am very thankful to have someone to help me in my struggles (that's you, Lynnie!). It is very spiritually and mentally fulfilling to have so many questions answered. I look forward yet again to delving deeper into my studies on God's Greatest Commandment.
Side note: I made it through chapter 3 last night, and Jerry did go further into explaining human love versus God's love, but I don't have my notes in front of me, and I do not want to muddle his fabulous commentary on those very human emotions. Humans are such silly creatures!
No comments:
Post a Comment