If anyone desires the commandments, let him go to the crossroad where they all pass./Let him take charity and humility and patience into his heart./For thus the commandments will not go from him, but he will have them in all their wholeness.

  - Colman mac Beognai, Aipgitir Chrabaid (Irish, 7th century)

"You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them."

  - Leviticus 18.4

I am sometimes asked if I am a "Christian reconstructionist" because I put so much emphasis on the Law of God.

I'm never quite sure how to answer that, because I can't always discern what people mean when they ask. Those who, over the past generation, have proudly embraced that nomenclature do emphasize the importance of God's Law, and they are eager to see fundamental changes in the state of the Church, of culture, and of society as a whole.

With all that I'm certainly sympathetic.

But when it comes to the Law, we have to be very careful that we resort to it as the Scriptures intend. Colman can help us here. He identifies five conditions for properly walking in the Law of God.

First, we must desire the Law of God. If we take up the Law of God grudgingly or with any attitude other than thanksgiving and delight, we will not know the benefit God intends for us through His commandments.

Second, we must take the Law into our lives - into the highways and crossroads where we related to people day by day - into our Personal Mission Field. The Law is not just something to study or debate. It's meant to change our lives, by bringing God's justice to light in every daily detail, activity, and relationship of our lives.

Third, and this follows from the second - study to obey God's Law in concrete acts of charity. As you read and meditate in the Law of God - daily, Psalm 1 - try to envision ways that any particular commandment or statute might find expression in your life. Think about the day ahead of you and try to anticipate the opportunities for practicing neighbor love which you will have. Let the Law get you ready, soul and body, to show the love of Christ to others.

Fourth, obey the Law with humility. Just as Christ did. Obedience is nothing to boast about, nor is simply knowing the Law. All we have to boast about is the Lord's grace. When He is pleased, by His grace, to bring forth obedience of faith in us, let us give Him praise and thanks, and take no credit unto ourselves.

Finally, be patient with the Law of God. Take the time to learn it. Pray it in until you begin to see the wisdom and beauty of it. Work at finding ways to express the Law in your daily life. Stay at it, day by day, and trust that God will bring forth the fruit of obedience in the form of blessings in His way and time.

We're not saved by keeping the Law. And we may not even be Christian reconstructionists if we do. But keeping God's Law, in the ways Colman suggests, is precisely what Jesus intends for His disciples, if they would "reconstruct" their lives and world for the praise of the glory of His grace.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.