May 14, 2009

his commandments are not burdensome

Your commandments might be.  My commandments most assuredly are.  But the commandments of God?  No, they are not burdensome, and today I am thankful for that.

I once heard the commandments of God described as the safe swim area at the beach.  God, the lifeguard, says, as long as you are playing withing these bouys, I can keep you safe, but outside of them - well I can't get to you fast enough, the sharks are waiting, the riptide is pulling, etc. etc.  The commandments of God are not constrictive, but, as counter-intuative as it may seem, give freedom.  Freedom to roam knowing that God's got his watchful and loving eye upon you.

When I was in high school I made some extra cash refereeing under-6 soccer.  I think I was there to keep the parents from killing each other, because, quite frankly, the kids didn't have a freaking clue what was going on.  And because there were no real "rules" the game was no fun.  Just a ball of arms and legs orbiting around a tiny soccer ball on a tiny field.  It wasn't until the kids got older and could see the nuance, strategy, and freedom to play within the rules that the game got fun.

Today I give thanks for the commandments of God.  I am grateful that they are, in fact, not burdensome, and I'll try to give up my own, often unspoken, commandments of others which only serve to frustrate and weigh down.

1 comment:

cj said...

Great posts this week. Many thanks. I am feeling stretched too thin and these have been wonderful for getting me on track.