December 8 ~ Deuteronomy 6:20-25
Someday your children will ask, “Why did the Lord give us these laws and teachings?”
Then you will answer:
We
were slaves of the king of Egypt, but the Lord used his great power and
set us free. We saw him perform miracles and make horrible things
happen to the king, his officials, and everyone else. The Lord rescued
us from Egypt, so he could bring us into this land, as he had promised
our ancestors. That’s why the Lord our God demands that we obey his laws
and worship him with fear and trembling. And if we do, he will protect
us and help us be successful.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Our
three-year-old Nathan’s favorite question is “Why?” Sometimes, I have a
good answer…and often, I just have to “wing it.” But when our children
– or anyone else – asks me why God gave us rules and commands us to
obey them, I hope I have decent answers! When I am asked by anyone WHY
God covers us in grace and mercy and sent His only Son to suffer and die
for our sins, I need to have a good explanation at the ready!
Let’s
be clear…we are not going to have “all of the answers” – because we
aren’t supposed to. There are so many things about how God operates
that are mysterious and will not be revealed to us until we get to
Heaven. This is where “faith” comes into play! But we need to be so
grounded and confident in our Christian faith and discipleship that we
can explain - and demonstrate by our actions – our service and obedience
in a way that is compelling and believable to others. And telling
someone we love and serve God…“because I don’t want to go to hell” is
not a good answer!
We have some excellent starting points
outlined in this scripture passage from Deuteronomy 6. God performed
miracles and protected His people by making horrible things happen to
the king of Egypt and his cronies. He rescued the people of Israel and
delivered them to the Promised Land. And He has guaranteed protection
and success for all who follow Him. Since this is Old Testament
scripture, it doesn’t even touch on the miracles, love, grace and mercy
of Jesus Christ several centuries later. The Bible as a whole is filled
with examples and justifications for placing our hope and faith in
Jesus Christ and serving our Heavenly Father with full obedience and
trust. Our job is to look for them and commit them to heart!
The
point is that we need not fear questions about our faith. Rather, we
must be ready to answer them. We have to prepare ourselves through the
study of God’s word, prayer and communication with Him – and through
actually putting our Christian faith into action - so that we are ready
to answer that all-important “Why?” from people who are “on the fence.”
Are you fully ready to tackle these questions head-on? Do you
have good, plausible explanations for your Christian faith and
discipleship? Isn’t it time that you did?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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