It's All Love

I lived in my childhood home from my very first memory all the way through graduating high school. I could recreate in great detail every feature of this home; the color of the kitchen island, the design of the wallpaper in the bathroom, I could even tell you what sound the stairs made as you walked up them. But the most unique part of this home was the eclectic decor. I think my parents’ overall philosophy was, “I like that! Put it on the wall!” You could find taxidermy ducks and deer heads, beautiful water color paintings, retro Dr. Pepper signs, and a family picture or two. The one thing that sticks out in my memory the most though, is the embroidered Ten Commandments that hung in our kitchen just above the landline (that’s a phone that has a cord for all the youngsters out there). I saw the Ten Commandments every day for years and years but it took me a very long time to understand what they really were.

I can be very legalistic; a rule follower through and through. So when I was young and I read the Ten Commandments, I took them at face value. These are the rules God has told me to live by and live by them I will. *You shall have no other gods before me. *You shall not make idols. *You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. *Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. *Honor your father and your mother. *You shall not murder. *You shall not commit adultery. *You shall not steal. *You shall not bear false witness. *You shall not covet. Ten rules to follow so that we can all live a life pleasing to the Lord. But it can also be seen that these ten rules to follow are just another way God shows His never ending love for us.

Jesus summarizes the Ten Commandments in Matthew 22 into two sections. “…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This summarizes Commandments one through four. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This summarizes Commandments five through ten. In its most simplistic form, all the Ten Commandments do is teach us to love God and love others.

So maybe we should all hang the Ten Commandments in our kitchen. We should see them on a daily basis to be reminded that they aren’t just rules of what we can and cannot do. But instead it’s just one more thing pointing us to the love of God. In the end, it’s all love!

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in his should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

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