EVERYDAY ENCOUNTER WITH GOD
Pastor Sylvia's Enconters with God in the Midst of Everyday Life
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ABOUT THE COLUMN Sylvia would love to hear your thoughts about this week's encounter. Please send them to sylvia@pastorsylvia.com |
Ten New
Commandments My weekend was an explosion of delight in
Coupeville, WA where I hung out with my eternal BFFs (Best Friends
Forever) from Grace By the Sea Anglican Church. These women are not
light weights. They aren’t afraid to see what Jesus might be saying to
them specifically, and he didn’t disappoint. One of our discussions was hypothetical. What would
it look like if the United States government fell and we were assigned
the job of writing ten laws on which to base the new one? Simply doing a
cut and paste of the Ten Commandments wasn’t an option. “Look at the
culture and choose those that will be most important to a young, new
nation.” We easily agreed that murder was on the list. And
we thought it would be important to protect property from theft. The
right to bear arms made the list, but with a noticeable lack of group
enthusiasm. Then we digressed to a conversation about those
commandments that (sadly) wouldn’t be part of the new constitution:
adultery, coveting, and profaning the name of God. What about keeping
the Sabbath holy? Hardly anyone does that anymore. And honoring our
mothers and fathers? One day a year on the calendar is pretty lame. Since coming home this exercise has continued to
rattle around in my head. What if Jesus was put in charge of the new
constitution? What would he write into the laws of a new nation? God could have given Moses an easy-to-obey,
quantifiable list of rules. In addition to admonishments against murder
and stealing, He could have included things like “Brush your teeth twice
a day,” “Stay home on the Sabbath,” and “Never tell a lie, no matter how
big or small.” However, if we were able to follow all the
commandments perfectly (like the Pharisees believed they were able to
do,) most people wouldn’t need a savior. Only the most reprobate of
human beings would need the benefits of the cross. Everyone else could
slide into eternity with nary a backward glance at the life they left
behind. That’s not the way God mapped it out. I’m sure there are people who think the Ten
Commandments are archaic. They don’t fit today’s culture and morals.
They are too restrictive and difficult to maintain. But I am of the
opposite ilk. Do they really stretch far enough? So in my hypothetical
new constitution, I would like to add three more that we desperately
need. Read on! My “# 11” would be, “Thou shalt treat others with
kindness regardless of how you have been treated.” This week I received
an email from a woman who treated me very abusively after I assisted
with her husband’s memorial service. Now she wants to resume our
friendship. She said I had to forgive her because she was abused as a
child. My answer was, “I have forgiven you for how you treated me, but
that doesn’t mean I want to resume our friendship. Your abuse history
doesn’t give you permission to treat others badly.” This leads to my #12: Thou shalt forgive those who
hurt you whether they deserve to be forgiven or not, and whether you
feel like it or not.” Jesus covered this one in person, but I’d still
put it on my list. And finally, “Find meaning in all your
relationships and all your experiences.” Life isn’t a series of problems
to be solved. Wellbeing isn’t just about being fixed, or knowing the
right answer, or talking the loudest. Our reason for being here is to
delight the heart of God, find intimacy and wholeness through our
connection with each other, and leave everything better than how we
found it. It’s quite likely that the Son of God has no issues
with the original Ten Commandments. Yes, they are difficult to regulate,
but isn’t that the point? They do exactly what they were designed to
do—point out our inability to follow them perfectly. “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love
each other.” (John 13:34) |
RECENT COLUMNS Resilience As A Path To Holiness A Christmas Letter From Jesus - 2023 |
Sylvia and Husband John have published a new book,
BOOKS BY SYLVIA
LAURA AND ME; A Sex Offender and Victim Search Together to Understand, Forgive, and Heal
THE RED DOOR; Where Hurt and Holiness Collide
Availible at Amazon and Barns and Noble