The Law of Love

What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today? Deuteronomy 4:7, 8 (NIV)

We are blessed to have a God that desires a relationship with us, an intimate, close and personal connection that defines who we are and sets us on a particular path. God is complete without us, but yet took the time to fashion us out of His own image. He is complete without us, but cared enough to set up rules and laws to protect us from our own self. He is complete without us, but loved us deeply enough to sacrifice His only son. Understanding His plan is fundamental to being intimate with God. Knowing how much He loves us helps us to understand how to love each other. Realizing God is not far away, but is the one closest to us enables us to know He will never leave us or forsake us, even when we have forgotten Him.

Our Sunday school class was discussing the relevance of the Bible not too long ago. We were trying to tackle questions that unbelievers have, like how we know the Bible is truth, why God gave us the Bible and whether the Bible is relevant to today. This passage, in fact, the whole fourth chapter of Deuteronomy explains it very simply. God desires us! The chapter presents evidence for God’s love and proclaims us as lucky to have Him as our God.

Throughout the Bible, God's love is woven in Scripture. His desire to protect, rescue, nurture and save us is melted into every book. Even in His rebukes, God's love is evident. He simply wants to know us. He wants to know you. His master plan is one of bridging the gap that sin has caused. It is the great reconciliation of the Creator to his creation. The Bible is proof of that. No, we don't get the incredible blessing of walking with Jesus today in the physical world. We don't have the actual stone tablets with the Ten Commandments on them. We don't have Moses' brain to pick. We have an easily accessible book with it all written down. Yes, the Bible can be hard to dissect at times and there are many different ways to translate the verses found within. But what better gift could God give us than a full account of what He has done for us? Think of the Bible as a love letter written by God and meant for you. See the laws as protection, not as a list of "don'ts" that steal from our fun. God only desires one thing: that we love Him. And only because He loved us first.

God, open my eyes and mind to the wonderful Love Letter You have given me. Help me to desire and understand Your Word. Amen.

Nikki Hamsher