As you walk through this life you will learn one thing quickly, there is always someone smarter, wittier, funnier, faster, stronger and tougher. I remember back in college I had a professor that would post test scores outside his office and everybody had to go there to see their latest grade. (Yes, this was way before the internet and yes, I’m old.) No matter how diligently I studied, no matter how much I read, there were always many people above me on that list. While playing football, no matter how much I lifted, ran and trained, I would get outran and roughed up by somebody bigger, stronger and faster on Friday night. You see, it’s just a part of life that we have to deal with. We will never be the best and sometimes our best just isn’t good enough.
Even though this is a fact of life, this thought process is shunned today. It’s considered unfair to lose, it’s considered harmful to a person’s ego to allow them to even think they are not #1. We raise young people today and pound into their heads that they are the princes or princesses of their lives. We are training a generation of men and women that have a tough time realizing that personal failure and rejection is part of life. Just because you fail does not make you a failure, but it does teach you so much about life and living it to the full.
Today in Deuteronomy 5 we find Moses retelling the 10 commandments. This new generation of Israelites had more than likely had them passed down by parents and teachers but God sees it as necessary for Moses to give the people the commandments again. I’ve heard it said you need to learn something three times for it to stick, I think it’s closer to 50 for me. There’s a couple of things to specifically note here as Moses revisits the 10 Commandments, let’s take a look.
1) The law of God is not just for other people or bad people, it’s for you. It's from God straight to you.
“The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. It was not with our ancestors that the Lord made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today.” Deut 5:2-3
The law of God is directly from God straight to you. You can’t cop out or dismiss it and think that it applies to everybody else and somehow doesn’t apply to you. God’s rules are personal, they are between you and Him, nobody else.
2) There are four critical steps to dealing with God’s Law in your life.
“And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.” Deut 5:1
As you experience the rules for a righteous life within God’s Word there are four critical steps to applying them in your life. Hear them, learn them, keep them and do them. It’s not good enough to just casually peruse your Bible, you have to study your Bible. You have to hear it and learn it. Only then will you be able to keep it and do it.
3) Parents have a tremendous responsibility to God.
“Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” Deut 5:16
People greatly misconstrue this law thinking that their kids are somehow born knowing this law at heart. That they somehow come out of the womb with a great desire to honor their parents. Tough question for you parents, are you worthy of honor? How hard do you make it for you children to honor you? (Eph 6:4) You see, honor has to be earned and even though you are the earthly father or mother of your kids, you have to emulate Christ in such a powerful way that your kids will see and emulate His model, not your life.
Think about this, God has chosen parents to stand in for Him as that little one is growing up. As children are young, they cannot feed on the Word of God any easier than they can feed on steak. They cannot perceive the depth of God's Word so the parents must teach them through example. The parents are responsible not only for the physical well-being of their child but just as importantly, the spiritual growth of their child. A parents responsibility to God is to teach their children the laws and ways of God. In turn as they do, the children are to respect their parents. Yes, there will be rebellion, but if God is the true center of the parent-child relationship, the relationship will be blessed by God, He promises it.
How do you build and maintain a God centered parent-child relationship? Parents, how often do your kids see you studying your Bible? They will emulate what you do. How often do you read the Bible with your kids? They will see what is important to you and duplicate it. How often do you pray with your kids? If they see you consult with God about everything in your life, they will do the same. How often do you serve God with your kids? They see how you choose to spend your time and they will give of their time similarly. How is your language around the house? Your kids will start speaking the same way. A life worthy of honor is a life lived for Christ.
It goes without saying but this is one of the single biggest problems in our world today. Parents that don’t know God or hear God and as a result they do not learn God’s law and they cannot keep them and do them. They then raise children that are like them, completely void of God and the laws that He established for a fruitful, purposeful, righteous life. As a result of this vicious cycle, we see generations today that are running the race for self. We see lives that without God, are selfish, angry and frustrated as they search for purpose and meaning in a life that revolves only around themselves. The other day I read about the top 5 reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire. Two of the 5 reasons the author stated for the eventual fall of the 1,000 year empire was a great abandonment of God and a breakdown of the family unit. As parents strayed from God, they raised kids that did not know God and the process started a slow slide into family degradation. Moving away from God destroyed families. As a result, one of the mightiest empires that has ever existed on Earth fell into ruin. Parents, don’t see this commandment as something your kids owe you, see it as something you earn from your kids as you take on the great responsibility of teaching your kids the truths of walking closely with Christ.
Folks, the 10 Commandments are like a plumb line that determines the verticality of a crooked wall. It doesn’t take long for that plumb bob to show you that the wall is indeed crooked. Our lives are that crooked wall before God, that is, our inherited sin nature makes us unrighteous before a Holy and perfect God. The 10 Commandments are meant to show us, like that plumb line, that we cannot keep them perfectly. Because of that glaring fact, God sent His Son Jesus Christ to save us from our inequity. The 10 Commandments are a signpost that points imperfect lives to Jesus. You can never hope to perfectly keep God’s law, but you can call upon the name of Jesus and claim His perfect life as your own. Admit to God that you are a sinner and that you cannot keep God's law perfectly. As a result of this, ask Jesus Christ to save you from the penalty of your sins. His grace is sufficient for all.
As you take your last breath here on this planet, you will take your first breath in Heaven. And as you walk into the throne room of Heaven, God will not see your inability to keep His law, He will see the precious blood of His Son Jesus as it covers you in His amazing grace.
Your good isn’t good enough when it comes to God, but it doesn’t have to be. Call upon the only name that is good enough, the precious name of Jesus Christ.
Whatever you may be going through today, if you are reading this, you’re being prayed for.
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