Nov
25
In the Name
Filed Under Devotional
I get a kick of seeing the difference between the way God speaks rules and laws for us and the way mankind creates laws. God’s laws seem elegant and simple. They are designed to be self-defining in the sense that the very rule makes it clear where the limits are.
Man’s law tends to drown in loopholes and exceptions because we cannot write elegant rules. Notice that the most complex and convoluted laws are those that seem to allow or encourage immoral or unethical behavior. We try really hard to sound like the Lawgiver when we write laws. We don’t even come close.
Here’s a great example:
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17
In two lines, Paul has summed up the “do’s and don’ts” pretty easily. If you do everything in the name of the Lord, you’ll be careful about what you do. If you do everything as an act of thanks to God, you’ll be careful about what actions you offer up.
Knowing mankind, we would have added some equivocation and exceptions for particular circumstances. We would have had to list all of the possible actions that didn’t fall under this rule. We love our escape clauses. In other words, we would have screwed it up and removed all of its value.
God’s laws are easy to remember because they are absolute. They apply in all circumstances. He’s pretty good at this. The laws aren’t hard to understand, they just resist our human nature. So, keep it simple and keep that rule in mind:
Do it all in the name of Jesus.