Have you ever been in a situation where a sense of obligation took precedence over your enjoyment of the event? I sure have and hockey games are just one example. Sincere apologies to my son, my dear friends and all others who derive great pleasure over seeing a puck scoot from one end of the arena to the other, but I just can’t get excited over it. On the other hand, I doubt that those same folks would enjoy sitting through a classical concert as much as I do. In other words, the same things don’t always appeal to the same people. How’s this for an example:
In my latest “read through the entire Bible” adventure, once again I found myself slogging through the Book of Exodus. But not only that, in the back of my mind was the realization that Leviticus was coming next. Like Exodus, Leviticus is the next Old Testament history book filled with instructions. “Read on,” I found myself exhorting myself “Read and on and on.”
This week, however, a fresh new light was cast on these verses, a light that will forever change my attitude toward the multiplicity of God’s instructions and stringent demands regarding the people’s place and mode of worship. To that I gratefully add: “Thank God for the freedom we now enjoy because of Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary.”
Here’s the catch: Just because I don’t have to sew curtains and transport a sacred Ark in a particular way, doesn’t remove the obligation I have to walk before God and people in a manner that is marked by integrity, honesty and genuine caring for others. Sometimes it doesn’t seem too hard; other times, it’s downright tough to respond to unpleasant people and difficult circumstances.
“The integrity of the upright will guide them ….” Proverbs 11:3
Music and Exodus – both gifts!
