Deuteronomy 4:5–8 ‘What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him?’(v7)
The OT presents God’s Law given to Moses in the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20). This was never replaced by Jesus –‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them’ (Matt. 5:17) – a fulfilment accomplished by Jesus inhabiting the Law. He now invites us to become a living expression of God’s life on earth. This is not by becoming moral barometers throughout society, although many mistakenly make personal morality the foundational measure of Christian compliance. Jesus welcomed the most immoral into His circle, people who wouldn’t have sought Him out if they thought He was leading on moral rearmament. Jesus encouraged His followers to live the essence of God’s Law in practice; a life of presence not preaching.
Words have become a debased currency in our world of empty political promises and the mis-selling of the advertiser’s craft. Even when fake news is fact-checked, the majority of people interviewed assume there must be some element of truth within the proven lie. There’s a lack of role models across society, and whoever gets elevated by a media hungry for a hero is soon shown to have feet of clay.
As disciples we acknowledge failings, have nothing to prove and live by God’s provision. All we have to offer is Jesus, with whom we abide and who can recover the most broken of lives. Learning to live in God’s presence is our first step to inhabiting the Law.
SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER: Ps 139:7–18; Isa. 50:4–11; Col. 3:12–17; 1 Thess. 4:1–12.
AN ACTION TO TAKE: Is your faith about keeping rules? The Christian life is God’s invitation to you to enjoy His presence and to become a point of His presence and beacon of hope in the world.
A PRAYER TO MAKE: ‘Lord, help me to be a point of God’s presence and a beacon of hope in the world every day. Amen.’
