Matthew 5:17-18
“Don’t suppose for a minute that I
have come to demolish the Scriptures—either God’s Law or the Prophets.
I’m not here to demolish but to complete. I am going to put it all
together, pull it all together in a vast panorama. God’s Law is more
real and lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet.
Long after stars burn out and earth wears out, God’s Law will be alive
and working.
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
When I was teaching
kindergarten, our school district put every single teacher and
administrator through an extensive (and expensive!) training program
called PET…the Program for Effective Teaching. I won’t go into a lot of
details about this program other than to say that we learned how to
consistently present a lesson to students in a way that they could
understand and retain. Some felt this program insulted their existing
teaching abilities, but I felt it enhanced our skills and gave us common
ground.
One of the basic principles of PET is that people
remember what you tell them at the beginning, in the middle, and at the
end. So in my kindergarten classroom, I developed three simple “rules” that five-and-six-year-olds could understand and remember, and we reviewed and practiced them over and again.
1) Be kind to others.
2) Work and play quietly.
3) Respect other people’s property.
Everything
we did had to fit into these parameters. Hit a classmate? That broke
rules #1 and #2. Tear up a toy or even your school supplies? This
violated Rule #3. There were tons of “sub-rules and guidelines,” but as
long as the children followed the 3 simple rules of our classroom, all
was well.
Here’s how this relates to Jesus. In the Old
Testament, we are bombarded with laws and rules. You can’t do this…you
must do that…if you break this law you must make XYZ sacrifice. And
Jesus didn’t necessarily change these laws. He just drilled them down
to something very basic and simple, as found in Luke 10:27…"That you love
the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and
intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do
yourself.”
This is SO EASY to remember. And yet, when we stop
and examine our thoughts, words and actions, everything you could think
of is covered. All you have to do is ask yourself, “Does this
demonstrate love of God? Is this how I would want to be treated? Will
this exemplify love of my neighbor?” If the answer is in any way
negative, you know that you are not following the commands of Jesus.
And maybe this isn’t your goal in life…but don’t you think it should be?
Trust
Jesus to know what is best for you. Believe that His commands are true
and perfect - and fully complete God’s word…today, tomorrow, and
forever. Know that you are in His will beyond the shadow of a doubt.
And live with peace and confidence as you fully surrender to Christ and
serve at His pleasure. Love God…love others…trust Jesus…three “grown-up
rules” for effective discipleship. Are you ready to put them into
practice?
© Debbie Robus
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