Free to Think God’s Thoughts – The Law of Liberty (16)

Free to Think God’s Thoughts

The Law of Liberty (16)

Readers will gain a better perspective on the main teaching of this series by reading The Ground for Christian Ethics, by T. M. Go to www.MyParuchia.com, click Publications, then click Waxed Tablet, and scroll down until you see this little volume.

Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. Psalm 119:34, 35

At times, when I was a kid, I found my parents to be somewhat unreasonable and hard to live with. Whenever I wanted something with which they didn’t agree, they would listen patiently, then tell me, No. I would try to reason with them, to help them see the many advantages of my point of view. But they always prevailed. I swore I would never treat my own children that way.

Then Susie and I had children. And I saw pretty quickly that, while a child’s mind can conceive all manner of advantages for whatever it is he or she wants to have or do, that thinking can often be skewed by the blinders of mere self-interest. At such times, children need the mind of their parents, whether they agree with it or not; otherwise, they might end up in some trouble, or hurt themselves or someone else unnecessarily. I could see this so easily, once I was a parent, and was able to understand the way parents think. But as a child I found my parents’ wisdom more of an annoyance than a blessing.

Many of us may feel that way about the Law of God. We want what we want–let’s say, with respect to the Lord’s Day. We want to do whatever we want on that day–watch TV, play sports, go shopping, all, of course, after having gone to church, and we don’t want to be burdened with having to “rest” all Sunday (whatever that means). We just don’t see how that can be good for us, given the things we’d rather do with our time.

But this is to think with the mind of a child. We may not be able to see it, but our faith suffers when we refuse to submit to God’s counsel concerning the proper use of His Day. In view of the clear teaching of the Law of God concerning the Sabbath, we’d have to say the mind of God runs contrary to much of our thinking about that day and its proper use. Did it ever occur to us that the Law of God might be able to liberate us from childish thinking about the Lord’s Day?

Meditating in the Law of God can enable us to fill out the mind of Christ, which we possess by virtue of our salvation (1 Cor. 2:16), so that we can think with God’s mind and not merely our own. God’s ways and thoughts are far above ours; far above, but not inaccessible. The more we study His Law–indeed, all His Word–the more we will find that our minds can work in parallel with His, leading to blessing for ourselves and others.

Daily meditation in the Law of God helps us along the path of holiness, righteousness, and goodness (Rom. 7:12). Order your copy of The Law of God, a compilation of the Mosaic Law for contemporary believers, by going to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

–

In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.