For Our Good

God's laws are for our good. Or as Moses put it - "for our own prosperity and well-being." Deuteronomy 6:24, "...the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these laws and to fear him for our own prosperity and well-being..." (also see Deuteronomy 10:12-13). This means that God's commands are for our good! Yet often times we have this weird mentality that God is keeping us from good things when he forbids us to do something. Nothing could be further from the truth! Jesus came to give us a rich and satisfying life (John 10:10, NLT). And as we obey God's commands we get to experience that rich and satisfying life (I know I have!).

Let me illustrate. Pretend one of your young children has a plastic bag over their head. As a loving parent you would take the plastic bag away. The baby might cry and scream and beg for it back, but you still won't allow it. Why? Because as a loving parent you know what is best for your baby and won't allow them to engage in activities that are dangerous. As a loving parent you only want GOOD THINGS for your kids.

Similarly, God only wants good things for HIS KIDS (us!). And when he forbids something it's for our good! We may cry and scream and not understand why whatever it is that we want is forbidden. But that's like a baby not understanding why a parent took away the plastic bag. We are children and can't see things from our heavenly Father's perspective. If we could, we'd see what he sees - DANGER, TROUBLE, TURMOIL. And we'd stay away. This is where faith comes in to play. We have to TRUST God that if he says something is bad for us - IT IS (even if we don't understand).

Again, God's law are FOR OUR GOOD! :)