FROM BLESSINGS AND CURSES TO FRIENDSHIP
I offer you the choice of life or death, blessing or curse. Deut. 30:19, N.E.B.
When my daughter was little, she liked cleaning her room because I rewarded her with hugs and kisses. As she grew older she began to appreciate the inherents benefits of having a tidy room. It was a triumphant day when she came to me announcing, "It's so much nicer living in a clean room. I think I'll keep it neat all the time!"
Small children cannot comprehend the deeper reasons for principles and actions. So we reinforce their experiences with praise or discipline that teaches them that "this will make you happy" or "this will bring you sorrow." These external teaching aids become less and less necessary as the child discovers the built-in pluses and minuses of his actions. If I hugged and kissed my daughter today for cleaning her room, she'd consider it unnecessary. But we'd both laugh--because we've become friends.
Just before the Hebrew nation went up to possess Canaan, God spoke to them through Moses. They were given many laws and ordinances to govern their personal and corporate lives. And they were told, "I offer you the choice of life or death, blessing or curse." The blessing of life or the curse of death was inherent in their choice. If they chose to follow God's outline they would benefit from the built-in pluses of doing so. If they preferred the lifestyles of the heathen nations they were bound to reap the results.
Only one generation removed from Egypt, however, the people were like little children, unaccustomed to reasoning from cause to effect. Therefore, God reinforced their understanding with promises of His pleasure and warnings of His censure. Had Israel come to appreciate that the lifestyle God desired for them was simply the most sensible and productive way to live, not only would they have prospered, but they would have seen that God was more than a law-giver. He was their friend.
The way God chose to deal with postslavery Israel was not His most preferred method. He met them on the level at which they functioned. The relationship I had with my daughter in her younger years was not my ultimate goal for us. I looked forward to the day she would look beyond my role as parent and see me as her friend.
Today God desires you and me to see Him as more than one who blesses or curses. He wants us to see Him as our dearest friend!
I offer you the choice of life or death, blessing or curse. Deut. 30:19, N.E.B.
When my daughter was little, she liked cleaning her room because I rewarded her with hugs and kisses. As she grew older she began to appreciate the inherents benefits of having a tidy room. It was a triumphant day when she came to me announcing, "It's so much nicer living in a clean room. I think I'll keep it neat all the time!"
Small children cannot comprehend the deeper reasons for principles and actions. So we reinforce their experiences with praise or discipline that teaches them that "this will make you happy" or "this will bring you sorrow." These external teaching aids become less and less necessary as the child discovers the built-in pluses and minuses of his actions. If I hugged and kissed my daughter today for cleaning her room, she'd consider it unnecessary. But we'd both laugh--because we've become friends.
Just before the Hebrew nation went up to possess Canaan, God spoke to them through Moses. They were given many laws and ordinances to govern their personal and corporate lives. And they were told, "I offer you the choice of life or death, blessing or curse." The blessing of life or the curse of death was inherent in their choice. If they chose to follow God's outline they would benefit from the built-in pluses of doing so. If they preferred the lifestyles of the heathen nations they were bound to reap the results.
Only one generation removed from Egypt, however, the people were like little children, unaccustomed to reasoning from cause to effect. Therefore, God reinforced their understanding with promises of His pleasure and warnings of His censure. Had Israel come to appreciate that the lifestyle God desired for them was simply the most sensible and productive way to live, not only would they have prospered, but they would have seen that God was more than a law-giver. He was their friend.
The way God chose to deal with postslavery Israel was not His most preferred method. He met them on the level at which they functioned. The relationship I had with my daughter in her younger years was not my ultimate goal for us. I looked forward to the day she would look beyond my role as parent and see me as her friend.
Today God desires you and me to see Him as more than one who blesses or curses. He wants us to see Him as our dearest friend!
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