Today’s verse tells us that God’s law was given to us so that we could see how sinful we are. My brother, my sister, God who created us ended up regretting it because “the Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time” (Genesis 6:5-6). Now, seeing that people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became even more abundant. My friend, how do you react towards people whose behaviour gets worse and worse: do you reject them or show them more compassion? You see, as sinners separated from God, His law was like a ladder to be climbed to get to Him. Many have repeatedly tried to climb it, only to fall to the ground every time after moving up one or two rungs. Others have been discouraged by the height of the ladder that they don’t even try to climb it… obviously we are talking about whoever lives without Christ in their lives. Because it is a relief for you who already have Christ to know that He is offering His arms to lift you above this ladder of the law, to take you directly to God… Yet, the main problem many believers still don’t understand is that Jesus will always lift us up into God’s presence. BUT, once there, we are free to obey God, out of love, not necessity and through God’s power, not our own. The sad truth about many believers is that Jesus takes them into God’s presence, but they still choose to disobey. Of course, when that happens, we have the assurance that if we stumble, we will not fall back to the ground anymore because we will be caught and held in Christ’s loving arms. Yes, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). However, Jesus has not erased God’s law as regards our blessings: God blesses us for us to bless others (Genesis 12:2); He blesses us to care for His Kingdom (Luke 18:30); He blesses us to care for the others (Luke 6:38); He blesses us and requires much of us (Luke 12:48). Besides, there is a condition to access the blessings of God: “All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God” (to know what blessings the Lord is promising you, read Deuteronomy 28:2-14). This should tell some people today that, things they might have acquired while in disobedience may not be recognized by God. When God asked Abraham for His “only son” (Genesis 22:2), was God not aware of the existence of Ishmael? Ishmael was born out of disobedience not to wait on the Lord’s timing! When Zacchaeus met Jesus, he said: “Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (Luke 19:8). Why? Because most of the possessions he had were not given to him by God. He stole some of them, he cheated on people to get some of them… Just like many people get into debts to get what they want instead of waiting for the Lord’s timing to give them! Beware… God is not going to acknowledge something He has not given you or asked you to do! Yes, my friend, obedience to the laws of God is the product of your true love for Him. God reads in our hearts and there is no way you can cheat on Him. So learn to love Him for who He is, for what He has done for you, for sending Jesus to die on the cross on your behalf… not for what you want Him to do for you. Because this is the only way the fear of the Lord will grow in you and bring you to obey Him. All benefit of this obedience is for you as that will open the heaven over your head for you to see, experience and live what the Lord has in store for you. Stay blessed in Jesus’ name. [facebook] [retweet]