The Law part 4
You all know by now that I like the Law of First Mention. Which may or may not be ironic, here in this Rant series about the Law. Anyway. Genesis 11:31, "And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there." Daughter in law. Which speaks to me more of relationship than any sort of rules to follow. In fact, in the King James Version, it is not until Genesis chapter 47 when Joseph makes a law over Egypt, that the word means anything BUT "in law." And you know the old joke, "What's the difference between in-laws, and outlaws? Outlaws are wanted." But what I'm seeing here is an inclusion. Family getting bigger. Addition. You marry someone, and then your family grows. There are so many different ways to think about the law. And all we ever do is get stuck on a list of rules. I want us to shake that off. To see things in a different way. The law of Spirit and life in Christ Jesus. That, to me, says it all. Spirit and life. To live and to live. Because to live IS to love. And to love is to live. You don't owe anybody anything, except love. When you love someone, you fulfill the law. What law? Any of them. All of them. It's the New Commandment, right? Love one another as Jesus has loved you. Receive and release the love of God. Fill yourself to overflowing with what you've already been filled with. If you think behavior will get people to approve of you, or accept you, or love you... that's not how it works. You can't earn love. Love is freely given. And must simply be received and released. The law of Spirit and life is just that: Living in the Spirit. Walking by faith and not by sight. Letting the Spirit of truth (that leads and guides us into all truth... the truth that God is love and He loves you) direct you. Those who are led by the Spirit are known as the Son(s) of God. Jesus said people will be able to identify His disciples by the love they share. That's obeying the law. Giving what you've got. Living out of your abundance. You are blessed to be a blessing. You were created to create. You are loved in order to love. God's love equips and empowers us to love Him back by loving each other. By including each other. Instead of building walls to keep people out, the law of love builds bridges to bring people closer together. That's what the true law is all about: Building bonds. Strengthening connections. It's about relationships. People loving each other. That's the only law that matters. And it has nothing to do with whether we think they deserve it or not. Walking by faith and not by sight is the same as not judging by appearance but judging righteous judgment. Giving what you've got instead of thinking you can earn something by following a set of rules. You have what you need. The only rule is to be who you are. Who you really are. Which is who you are in Christ. Which is who Christ is in you. Who you are in love. Which is who LOVE is in you! The first bunch of times the KJV uses the word "law" is about in-laws. Family. We can all treat each other like family!