Exodus 20:1-17, Isaiah 61:8-9, Deuteronomy 1:15
Audio File is at the end of this text.
The second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence reads...
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with Certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."Audio File is at the end of this text.
The government was formed to give us life and we must not take this for granted. Life becomes important when it is uncertain. My brother had a mild stroke on Thursday and I'm sure that he is more appreciative of his life today than he was on Wednesday. It is the same with freedom. Freedom becomes important when it is uncertain and every generation must learn how to reverence it and protect it.
With life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness comes responsibilities and God is clear what our responsibilities are. The law he gave to Moses which is found in Exodus is the basis our American legal system. In Deuteronomy we find Moses explaining that there were now so many people, he could not hear all of the complaints so he set up a multi-tiered legal system much like we have in this country today.
Why? Because as it says in Isaiah, "...I, God, love justice." Too bad the children of Israel could not even get the first law right. You know, "You will have no other Gods but me." Over the centuries, the Jewish religious leaders turned the 10 Commandments into over 500 rules. Essentially, they used these rules to put a wedge between the people and their God. No person can keep hundreds of rules.
Jesus then breaks through to throw out the hundreds of laws. To focus the people back on the ten he says just do two things. "Love God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul and love your neighbor as yourself." Essentially Jesus' LAW OF LOVE will result in justice for every person. This is our goal, our aim, our true desire. We are a country of laws, we celebrate it this week and remember the ones who died to make us the freest and most blessed country in the history of civilization.
Why are we blessed? Look again at Isaiah. The prophet preaches that God loves his law and when we live by it, we are blessed. And, when we implement the law of love, we implement justice. Let's get back to our roots. Let's remember how the founders placed us on solid ground by forming a country based on God's law.
