Ten rules to follow to make it into heaven?
Sounds simple enough.
But how many of these have you violated?
Me- I’ve failed in 9 out of 10, at times.
Unless you count the season where I was unfaithful to my husband- not in adultery, but in giving away the time that should have been his to my work and lesser-priorities instead.
If you count that- I’ve broken all 10.
(Well- number 6 in the grown-up version of these says “Thou shalt not kill” – and I haven’t killed anyone. But I’ve given looks that could kill. And I’ve hurt others. And I have been mad enough to WANT to punch people in the face, and God says that even thinking about it is a sin.)
So that seals it right there. No question.
I wasn’t getting in.
I don’t deserve to get in.
But Jesus? God?
Boy do I love them with my whole heart.
And why? Because they get me.
Like REALLY get me.
They assume the best of me,
though they’ve seen me at my worst.
Seen EVERY shameful, awful thing I’ve ever done or even thought about doing.
And still- they LOVE me.
Because they ARE love.
It’s just who they are.
That’s what we all need isn’t it?
What we all really want?
Unconditional love.
Not based on what we have done-
either bad or good.
Love that has seen us at our worst and yet perseveres in believing the best?
Perseveres in extending love to us?
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Man if we could all just wrap our brains around that. Well- our minds won’t even fit around it, His love for us is so enormous, so infinite, so eternal.
God is Trinity- Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
And this is how much God loves us:
“God so loved the world that HE GAVE HIS ONE AND ONLY SON, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
John 3:16-17 NIV
And this is how much Jesus loves us:
“…the Lord Jesus Christ… gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.”
Galatians 1:3-5 NIV
And this is what the Holy Spirit does for you:
“And I (Jesus) will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to HELP you and BE WITH you forever— the Spirit of truth.”
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And this is the whole of the statement that Jesus says-
To be clear, he doesn’t take back any of the Father’s commands.
BUT- (and this is what so many miss and take for granted and forget to share when they’re pointing their fingers at others who are breaking the rules, or forgetting themselves and letting the enemy point his finger at them and make them feel damned)— He says we don’t have to be able to do them on our own. He says He will come and abide with us, if we ask Him to, and help us!
Jesus says,
“If you love me, keep my commands.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth.
The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.””
John 14:15-21 NIV
Religious people mean well, but sometimes they preach to others, telling them what’s right and wrong in a way that highlights where o.t.h.e.r.s are falling short and where t.h.e.y are succeeding.
Yep- I have been religious at times too. I still struggle with wanting to fix others. But you know what? I wasn’t even / am not even able to fix myself.
When I was religious, I was reading this passage all wrong.
I was forgetting the part where He showed us that every human in history fell short (meaning unless we are so proud that we believe we will be able to succeed better than every other human in history, we understand that we fall short too.)
I was forgetting the part where He said He’d send a helper. His own Spirit. Which we cannot succeed without. But with whom we become transformed, bit by bit until we enter fullness and completeness in eternity.
I was forgetting the part where someone asked Jesus what the MOST important commandments were (where to start) and
“Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:36-40 NIV
When my mind is focused on number one which is an absolute JOY-
being loved by God and loving Him-
I don’t as often have to TRY to love others as myself. Because when I’m walking in continual joy and healing and love, I’m more likely to BE a joy and bring healing and love to others.
And the other laws are all contained in that.
When I’m completely enamored with Jesus,
and I’m thinking about Him and His goodness all day long- every day- not because I have to but because I WANT to, not because I’m trying to but because I can’t NOT, no matter how hard I try…
Numbers 1-3 are covered.
Number 4 is flipped upside down. It becomes a for-me thing because my work is in the Lord and my rest is in the Lord, and so I can see that the rest is totally a gift for me- not a grinding for Him.
Number 5 becomes natural as I see that just because they’re older than me, doesn’t mean they are any more able to be perfect. But I’m filled with gratitude as I look back and see with God’s perspective that they tried harder and loved me more than I could ever understand until I had kids of my own and see myself fall short and yet know how much I love them.
Number 6- well I have no desire to kill, but I also don’t have a desire to slap people anymore.
Healed people want to see people healed.
Hurting people want to see people hurt.
The enemy is constantly trying to re-hurt us, but just the touch of Jesus’s cloak- just the shadow of a true disciple- had healing power. And God loves us so much that instead of making us chase cloaks and shadows, he offers that very healing Spirit to live INSIDE of EACH of us who will invite Him in! So every time we do hurt (which is inevitable) we can ask for His healing before we turn around and hurt or think about lashing out at someone else. And if we lash out because we forgot to get healed before we went out- he can help us ask for forgiveness and also help us forgive ourselves for falling short again.
Number 7- when we are so in love with Jesus, we don’t need another to complete us and we are freed to truly see and be grateful for the ways they DO show us love (which can keep us feeling in love with them), and we can ask God to meet – in Himself- any needs of ours that our spouse cannot or does not. When we do that we become so full that we don’t need to go looking for love anywhere else. Or fullness in things. Which covers number 8. What we have becomes more than enough!
Number 9 can still be tricky. Not because we want to lie, but because we understand that truth and love must co-exist. This is an area that I desperately have to call upon the Holy Spirit to help me in. Because there’s truth in the flesh and then TRUTH in God. And I know that is not the point of this commandment (which is to not be a liar), but it’s something I encounter often. For example- it can be the truth that I think someone is acting like a jerk. But telling them that isn’t necessarily loving- and the Truth is that God says to love others as myself. So first I need to get into love with the Spirit’s help. And ask Him why I’m feeling this way- maybe they’re truly being hurtful or maybe I’m just taking it wrong. And even if they were trying to be hurtful He can help me give the benefit of the doubt- believing the best in them- that they weren’t, or that they have some underlying hurt that caused them to hurt me. And most of the time the offense ends there. But sometimes Truth in love conversation is needed, and if that is the case He also can guide me in that, as well as keep me open and humbled to His correction through others. So complicated isn’t it? And that’s exactly why we need his help every moment!
And number 10- well that was always the hardest for me, I’ll be honest. But the more my mind is on him and his grace (everything I have that I didn’t deserve) the less my mind is on anyone else and what they have and the rat -race to get more. He prefills and refills all we need so that satisfaction and gratitude and joy and a sense of full-fillment can ALWAYS be found in Him! And any occasional thoughts of envy? Well He uses those too- to show us our eyes may be wandering, and help us get them right back on Him!
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People misunderstand about Christianity and think it’s about keeping all these rules so we can get to heaven.
So many don’t even want to try or keep trying because it’s too hard. They can’t.
And that’s right- we can’t.
BUT JESUS DID.
And because He did we don’t have to TRY to anymore-
But that still doesn’t mean we are free to be and act like however we feel… and yet (and I think this is where I and others have gotten tripped up)— TRYING to conform to Christ doesn’t work. BEING TRANSFORMED as we simply yield to Him, because we are in love with Him, that’s what changes us. Loving relationship- not rules- is where it’s at. The rules just show us what kinds of actions He says are good for us, and will be in line with that transformation, and which ones are not.
❤️ Maybe you’re reading this and know it already. But I thought it was worth sharing because it’s so unnatural, and every time I think on this He helps it sink more deeply in.
And He helps me see- how truly unfathomable and remarkable, extravagant and yet NECESSARY His first-Christmas gift to us is! And that it takes our whole lives, in relationship with Him, to OPEN and enjoy it!
From Full 