However, the regulations under which we operate often seem absurd. There are things we must do, things we may do, things we should not do, and things we can’t do. We have self-identified goals and objectives, institutional operations, and government legislation that dictates almost everything action we take.
Once a year, we have to report our activities and results to the federal government. As I sit in on meetings and webinars discussing the details of these reports and how they may impact the future of our operations, I am always overwhelmed and often heavily burdened by the strict guidelines we must follow.
If I get this stressed out and weighed down by this one report for my job, what must the Jews under the law of Moses have felt like. Their relationship with God was on the line, and the details of their law seem impossible to keep straight. One of the main reasons that the Old Testament is hard to read is that it is detail after minute detail about how God’s people were expected to live. And if it is this difficult to read and understand, how much more difficult would it have been to live under and obey every aspect of it?
I am thankful for the relationship that I have with God because of the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I praise Him for my salvation. The gift of the Holy Spirit is something that could never be replaced.
However, the lazy person in me is sometimes just as thankful that the law was fulfilled with Christ’s sacrifice and I am no longer responsible for keeping up with the seemingly infinite number of commands brought forth in the law. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice, and now I can hang onto my cattle. Jesus renewed my connection to God, so I don’t need to go to the temple to repent. Jesus came to me so that I won’t have to work my way to God.
Praise the Lord!