“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts” ̃ -Deut. 6:6
It is interesting today how many of us find the law to be restrictive and how so many believe God to be an authoritative dictator who spoke the commandments simply to assert His power over mankind, this perspective is flawed and short-sided and only points to our own inability to understand a God who is abounding in love.
First God demonstrated His love for us in creating the Garden of Eden, a place of perfection, lacking nothing. His desire for Holy Communion demonstrated in His talks with His image bearer, Adam, formed from the dust of the perfect Earth. Then He created Eve and commanded them to be fruitful and multiply, where mankind would get to experience a type of glory with the joining of two into one in a covenant before God, the foundation and building blocks of family and in so community. They increased in numbers, as God promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob only by the preservation of God.
Then we read of the great Exodus where God brings the Israelites out of Egypt and while in the desert, He prepares for them the Ten Commandments, but why? The commandments are an extension of His love. They were never meant to be a yoke upon the necks of His creation but always meant to help us practice selflessness and love. The laws keep us from surrendering to our own sinfulness, consider the consequences, demonstrate love and respect for ourselves and neighbor.
Consider the last six commandments, if every person within our communities today would adhere to such laws, there would be no use for much of the prisons and jails we have today, communities would strive, justice and equality would prevail. The first four laws would ensure reconciliation and access to our Heavenly Father, solidifying our identity, making us feel whole and complete as we enjoy Holy Communion.
Jesus said in Matthew 22: 37-40 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments”. Do you still believe Him to be a dictator? Not only did He command us to Love but showed us His love for us unto a cross. Every and all commands spoken by the Lord, were spoken to ensure our health and safety, mind body and soul. No, He is not a dictator but our Creator, the Lover of our souls, and He calls us, His Beloved.
-Vanessa Rios