3:45 – At First I Didn’t Like It

#faithbites #faithjourney first

Today is Valentine’s Day and of course we had to get something for our girls. We decided to get them some British Chocolate and a Pound Puppy. Remember those toys from the 80s? My youngest loved it and my eldest didn’t like it at all. Then I told her how her mom and I loved them growing up but couldn’t afford them. Next, I started snuggling hers to tell her how soft it was. Before I knew it, she liked it, and started making him a bow and a dog house out of a girl scout cookie box. Now, she wants to play.

This, as many things do, had me thinking about the Gospel and the Law. We all love the Gospel (forgiveness and salvation) but dislike law (rules on what to do and how to behave). The thing is after time, we realize the rules help us to live a fuller, richer, and more Christlike life.

But we have to get there first…

Scripture

• For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. – Romans 2:13
• Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law – Romans 3:31
• Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” – John 14:21

Reflection

Covenant and Kingdom. Law and Gospel. These go hand in hand. Following the law doesn’t earn salvation as belief in Christ does.

As it says in John, we should want to follow the law because it shows our love for Christ. Those who love Christ will be loved by the Father.

Sure, sin is fun: Sex, drunkenness, debauchery, gambling, and the list goes on. The problem with sin, to quote Jimmy Buffett, is it leads to a Permanent reminder of a temporary feeling. We train ourselves to enjoy the quick high of sin and then nothing but a higher high will so.

Sure, it’s hard and we don’t like it at first. But enjoying a Godly life is pretty awesome. It just takes time to learn how great it can be and that the old ways are gone.

So now my daughter is happy with what she got. Time for us to be happy with the beauty that God provides.

Challenge

Write down one thing that you didn’t like before but now like. Then apply it to your faith journey. Are there things that you can do without in order to embrace His love?

Prayer

Lord, we are rebellious. We want immediate gratification. We want things that are bad for us. You have given us the law and the Gospel. We want just the Gospel at first, until we learn the power of your law. Help us give up sin and turn to your law. We love you and give you thanks. Amen.