People often say that Christianity is simply a set of rules and regulations … a bit like SSOs (Ships Standing Orders … the rule book for each ship in the Royal Navy!) for life … Helen was once asked ‘As a Christian, what is that you aren’t allowed to do then?’ Faith is seen by many as negative, limiting, constricting your life … rules and laws are there for the courts / police to hang you by – that’s why they were written wasn’t it? Or could it possibly be to allow the country to function as a unit … with everyone following the same basic guidelines etc … I like this description of what it means to be a Christian … (from Psalm 18)
God made my life complete
when I placed all the pieces before him.
When I got my act together,
he gave me a fresh start.
Now I’m alert to God’s ways;
I don’t take God for granted.
Every day I review the ways he works;
I try not to miss a trick.
I feel put back together,
and I’m watching my step.
God rewrote the text of my life
when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.
Note the line ‘alert to God’s ways’ … that’s what we should be … and that’s what the ‘rules and regs’ in the bible are about really … if we are alert to Gods ways that is what He wants … and the rules etc. no longer seem negative, but they are there for our protection, give us boundaries etc … if we had had this sign on the bridge wings of HMS Cumberland, maybe the Captain would not have jumped over the side to test the Man Overboard routine …. but then again as Captain should he have been ‘alert to the ways’ of a ship at sea??
As we get to know God better we become more ‘alert to his ways’ … and those ways are not there to constrict us or choke the life out of us, but to free us to enjoy life as we were meant to … and how do we become more alert to his ways??? Spend time with him … as our bit from the psalm says ‘every day I review the way he works, I try not to miss a trick …’ it all started when ‘I got my act together’ … great biblical quote!
And finally do you know who the smallest man in the Bible was? No, it wasn’t knee high Mya, it was the Roman guard who fell asleep on his watch …
