I seem to remember a time when my earthly life made more sense to me. It seems that I remember having more determined focus for my earthly activities.
As I grow to realize the reality that my life is hidden with Christ in God, hidden from earthly observation because my life is Christ who is seated at the right hand of God, things of this world make less and less sense to me and my part in the things of this world seems to become more and more foreign to me. (Colossians 3 & Philippians 3)
In Ecclesiastes Solomon put the life of a Christian into perspective, saying that all is concluded in hearing “God fear and the commandments guard, for this the whole man.” Fearing God is the sum of faith and not letting go of His commandments is the life of faith in His grace. For His commandments all direct us to the cross of Christ where He has fulfilled all things for us and we learn that through His means of grace our lives are made whole again.
This really is all for the Man. Whereas according to what can be observed in this world, even as Solomon taught, Vanity, Vanity is all that can be found. But in Christ, life makes sense again.
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"Fearing God is the sum of faith and not letting go of His commandments is the life of faith in His grace. For His commandments all direct us to the cross of Christ where He has fulfilled all things for us and we learn that through His means of grace our lives are made whole again."
I think that I understand what you are saying.
But I do have trouble with "not letting go of His commandments".
What I do see happening is the more I try to hold to the commandments, the more I see that I (the old man) really doesn't want to and so I, as Luther once said, "throw out the Baby with the water". I know that it's not in the context that he used it... but -
And as far as leading me to the cross, I'm not sure that that would be the Commandments more than my remembrance of Baptism, (since that is all I have to hold on too here), Although if I think about it and the fact that Christ fulfilled all righteousness for me, that is most certainly true... I am constantly at the foot of the cross - bathing in the Blood of my Savior - in repentance and thankfulness for His free gift to me, one who is constantly loosing the battle, as I call it, of the flesh.
Thank you for helping me grow in the Faith.
If you could expand your thoughts on this, I would appreciate that!!!
MG
MG,
You really do a good job of demonstrating how difficult it is to speak clearly regarding these matters. Such insight as you have demonstrated is humbling.
“Not letting go of the commandments” or “guarding the commandments” becomes blurred because of our sinfulness. As you point out, Baptism is where God sets us right again regarding the commandments.
But the commandments are not Law in and of themselves. All statements can be received as Law by the one who does not fear God (which includes each of us as we look to ourselves and see our sin, before being called back to the God of mercy and love). Even “God loves you” is Law and condemns a person who does not know God through the relationship that is born of faith. To the person who does not know God is love through faith, the declaration of God’s love only shows the person more fully his own unworthiness of that love.
When Solomon speaks of guarding the commandments he is speaking of not letting go of them according to God’s intention for them. For example, Jesus gives the commandment, “Do this into My remembrance.” If we guard this commandment and do not let go of it according to the intention with which Jesus gives it, we will recognize that the Sacrament of the Altar is Christ’s own institution, ordained for our blessing, so that we will gladly partake of it not from a sense of obligation, but with Eucharisting (Thanksgiving), and according to all that Christ has proclaimed His Holy Supper to be and to provide.
If, however, we do not hold onto this commandment as it is given by our dear Lord, we will change it into something that makes us afraid even to draw near to Him through the blessed means that He has provided. For example, the false doctrine of transubstantiation made people look away from the blessings of the Sacrament, and to imagine various ways in which they would sin against the body and blood, such as spilling the blood. Then they also began to worship (adore) the consecrated elements, even the left-overs (which should have been fully consumed in the first place). And so, rather than coming with glad hearts to receive the body and blood of Christ with the bread and the wine in the way that He commanded, they turned the Sacrament into a work of man that left them without the blessings of God’s grace, and often with even more misunderstanding, guilt and fear.
All of the commandments, especially after the fall into sin, are given to show us the goodness of God, which is missing in us according to our sinful nature, so that rather than trying to be good or to restore goodness in our lives according to our own efforts, that we will flee to our God of grace and receive the regeneration that He alone can work for us.
When this is what we do not let go of, truly life makes sense again.
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