Backstory

There's a new series starting this weekend at Seacoast, taking a look at the Ten Commandments. The first one, "Go All In", will start at the beginning: God reminding Israel that He is the God who has delivered them from bondage, and that there are no other gods out there competing for His glory.

One of the things standing out over the past couple of years is "the way I've always thought" about the Ten Commandments. In Exodus 20, God gives Moses His TOP TEN, what we've considered to be the most important rules of life. Don't kill, don't steal, don't lie, don't use God's name in vain and others - break these and you're doomed. But a couple of summers ago, I found that they make more sense as "promises" than as "rules". Instead of feeling like I'm threatened for breaking one, I see God making certain warnings and promises to keep His children from harm, instruction for living life right. Along with the rest of the Law and even Jesus' commands in the Gospels, all of these things appear to be more about living for God than about behaving properly. They deal with inner change and spirit growth, not just outward judgments and punishment.

For me, that's been incredibly liberating. More than "keeping the rules", I'm called to live a life that avoids pitfalls by following hard after God. That's a more exciting, more empowering way to approach life moving forward, something I'm embracing inwardly, with plenty of caffeine, of course.