How good are you? In Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler (Mark 10:15-17), the young man calls Him "good." Jesus tells him, "No one is good but One, that is, God." Goodness is the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). If we measure goodness by our success in obeying the Ten Commandments, how do we fair? That reality hit me just the other day.
The question that appeared in Nancy Guthrie's study, The Word of the Lord: Seeing Jesus in the Prophets, was this:
"Let's open our Bibles to the Ten Commandments found in Deuteronomy 5. When you look over this list of commands, can you give testimony to the way in which the Holy Spirit has worked in your life to write one of these on your heart? How have you experienced God at work, giving you the desire and the power to obey one of these commands?"
Before I opened my Bible, my mind went to what would probably be the easiest one for all of us: "Thou shall not murder." I got this! Until the Holy Spirit brought this to mind: "Anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. (Matt. 5:21-22 MSG)" Oh. Still turning pages, I recalled, "Thou shall not steal." Yeah, maybe not that one either. I reached Deuteronomy 5, and my eyes scoured all of The Ten for something I could use to plead innocence:
You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet anything that is your neighbor’s.
I remembered those moments just last week, when saying what was on my lips was more pressing to me than honoring the Lord who reigns in my heart. I remembered the item the cashier neglected to ring up that, once I checked my receipt, I failed to make right. I remembered the Sunday I decided to do a load of laundry before church, and then some dishes, and then some writing -- not only did I never make church, but I never even spent any quiet time before the Lord that day. Putting other things -- myself mostly -- before God. Stealing. Profaning the Sabbath. On and on. In the last year, I could honestly say, perhaps not by the letter of the law, but certainly by the spirit of the law, I'd violated each and every one. My heart sank. What kind of Christian am I?
The kind that, even though she's been walking this path for quite a few years now, needs Jesus everyday. The kind that is saved only by grace and not by works. The kind that bears the righteousness of Christ, and not her own. The kind that needs to take a look at the law from time to time, to be reminded of how greatly, in her own strength, she misses the mark, and what a blessed day it was that Jesus hung in her place and made her acceptable before a just God and good Father. The kind that knows, although she doesn't get it right each and every time, and in the day to day can make a real mess of things, she has the desire to please God and He is still teaching her to grab on to His power to obey.
"Oh, how I love Your law!
It is my meditation all the day."
~Psalm 119:97
~Romans 7:22
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