Delighting in the Law of God
Psalm 119:77
„Let your mercy come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight.”
Many Christians overcomplicate the laws of God as if they were very difficult to understand. Yet it is actually very easy to understand its importance and purpose.
It is a great gift to know the will of God. It is a great gift to open up to us, to reveal your personality, your desire for us. This also proves that God took the first step towards man.
Jesus said many things during his teachings, including many parables, but the message behind the parables was always the same: love. But it’s important to note that the word “love” has become quite common, so many are unable to understand God’s will because the word “love” means something different to many. The same word is used for much less important things like: I love chocolate, I love my job, I love my hobby, I love cars.
So let’s get to the very simple thing that anyone can understand:
Isaiah 35:1-10
„The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, "Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you." Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
You don’t need a theological degree, you don’t need above-average intelligence (you don’t even need an average, since a fool doesn’t have that much). But then what do you need? Love. Here again the common word…
We have often taken over the passages that reveal to us the love that God expects of us. That is why I do not bring these verses now (e.g. Mt 10:37; Jn 14:15).
Love is like a house with a good foundation. You can build bravely on a good foundation, it will stay and it will reach its goal. But if there is no good foundation, no matter what efforts we make, no matter what we build on it.
If we love God more than anything, then His laws (also known as His will) become our delight, because then we no longer fulfill them because God asks of us, but because we want to fulfill them.
Psalm 119:32-35
„I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart! Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.”
When someone says that God has abolished His laws, that person says that anything is good for God. But we know this is far from true. Pesach has recently passed, and the Feast of Weeks, that is, Shavuot (known to most Christians as Pentecost), will soon follow. It is the Feast of the Torah that God has revealed His will to us.
But what do we do with it? Is it important to us? What's more, joyful? If we don’t love God enough, we will never get close enough to God.
1Corinthians 16:22
„If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!”
This is why there are believers who will have a closer relationship with God in days than those who go to church for decades.
It is also true in this case that it is not quantity but quality that matters.
Antal Farkas
(May 7, 2022)
