READ: Psalm 19:7-11
Nephew Roger was a stubborn 4-year old. One morning, Roger got near the street, and his daddy said, “Roger, don’t go into the street.” So glancing at his daddy, Roger sat on the curb and put both feet into the concrete gutter. Again his father said with more intensity, “Roger, don’t go into the street.” A few minutes later, with his eyes looking straight at his father, Roger stretched one little foot as far as he could and touched the asphalt edge of the road. Roger was punished. While Roger didn’t understand it, his daddy knew the street was a harmful place for a 4-year-old.
It is out of love that God our Father gives us instructions to live by. God has a “best” life planned for His children. Anything less than the “best” is taken away. God gives us instructions for living His “best” life. Some instructions are “do not’s,” i.e., “do not murder,” or “do not place any other god before Me.” Some instructions are “to do’s”, i.e., “love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength,” “love your neighbor,” and “forgive as I have forgiven you.” God’s boundaries and commands are meant for our good– even if we don’t really understand them right now and more than Roger understood why his feet couldn’t be in the street.
– Dr Tim Thompson