I enjoy books because the stories they tell effect me in some way. Sometimes it's just a feeling--a book might make me laugh, or a book might make me cry. Sometimes a book will cause me to consider a new perspective, or it might challenge my position on a certain issue. Sometimes a book will leave an imprint on my heart because of a character I've grown to love and sometimes I don't want a book to end because I have become so woven into the story that it feels like it's a very part of me, and letting go is hard. Books are marvelous things.
Of all the books I've read there is one that I love the most. It's the book that was penned by 40 different authors over a 1600 year period, with a theme of love and redemption that flows harmoniously from beginning to end. That book is the Bible. The inspired Word of God. The story of God's redeeming love for man--the most wonderful, true story of love ever told.
This book effects me in every way that I mentioned before...but this book is different. It's different because I can't set it down and walk away thinking to myself, "That was a great story," then go on with my life, unchanged. It's different because it requires a response. It's different because it directly influences my future, my behavior, and my hope. It's different because the characters, the plots, and the settings play a part in every decision I make, every lesson I teach my children, and every thought I have for tomorrow. It's more than just a story. It is the standard to which everything is measured. It is our moral compass. It is the determination of what is right and what is wrong. It is the living Word of God. It is God-breathed. It is Truth. (Hebrews 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, John 17:17).
In as much as the Bible is not simply a love story, it is also not simply a book of rules. The Bible is, in fact, both and the two are intertwined in a beautiful expression of God's plan to save His children. If I go through life simply "checking things off of my spiritual to-do list", then I've missed the most important part of being a Christian. However, if I neglect to respond in obedient faith to the grace that my Heavenly Father has extended to me through His Son Jesus Christ, then I've missed another necessary part of being a Christian (Ephesians 2:8, Romans 1:1-6).
The Bible tells me what I need to know about living life as a follower of Christ. Love God, love your neighbor, love your enemies, love yourself. Honor your parents. Submit to one another. Go unto all the world and preach the Gospel. These are rules. These are tender, compassionate, God-given rules. Read the Word, increase your Faith through Bible study, repent of your sins, tell the world that you believe Jesus Christ is God's Son, be baptized into the death of Christ so that His blood can cleanse you of sin and you can walk a new life, and live faithfully. More rules. Tender, compassionate, God-given rules.
God loves us in a way that we will never fully understand and, because He loves us, He has given us rules to follow. Following those rules is not legalistic or unloving, the following of God's rules originates from a heart that wants to demonstrate its love for God. We show our love to God when we keep His commandments (1 John 5:2). We abide in God when we keep His commandments (1 John 3:24). We come to know God if we keep His commandments (1 John 2:3).
Throughout the Bible, we find that love and obedience go hand and hand. Even Jesus, when He came to this world to live and die in the ultimate demonstration of love for all people, also came in obedience to God. His entire life on earth was lived in humble submission to the Will of His Father (John 15:10). We should strive everyday to be more like Jesus.
Paul spoke often about grace. He also spoke often about faithful obedience. Paul's entire life is a outstanding example of both. On the road to Damascus, the outcome would have been different if Paul, in response to Jesus, had said, "I don't want to follow your rules, I just want to be a part of your story." Instead, Paul did what Jesus told him to do, went to the city, was baptized by Ananias and became the greatest missionary to ever live. He lived a life of faithful obedience, shared Christ with the world, and knew that there was laid up for him a crown of righteousness in Heaven.
I can't save myself. My only hope for salvation is through the free gift of grace extended to me through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. My response to that gift is faith--the confident belief I have that Jesus is the Son of God plus the confident hope I have for a home in Heaven that leads me to take action according to God's Will (James 2:17, 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3). My response to God's grace is not an effort to earn my salvation...my response is in obedience to God, whom I love and to whom I submit my life.
The Bible is the true story of God's love for man that was manifested through the sacrifice of His Son so that we might have hope for eternal life in Heaven. God doesn't "invite" you and me to be a part of the story...we already ARE a part of the story, because Jesus died on the cross for everyone. That makes every person in the world a part of God's love story. We are invited to respond to His love in obedience to Him. This means following His rules...rules we read about in His book, the Bible, by which we will all one day be judged (John 12:48).
Love is fundamental to Christianity. God is love and as Christians we should radiate His love to all people! That love is characterized by faithful obedience to His Word. We must have both and we CAN have both. It seems as though some people think Christians are either "all love and no rules" or "all rules and no love." God calls us, through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to have both.
