The King’s Highway

Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.  1 Timothy 1:57

When Jesus proclaimed He is the way, the one deed above all others He was stressing that we emulate was His love for the Father that wrought complete devotion and unswerving obedience. While going to the Cross was indeed an act of obedience to the command of the Father, it was love that drove His obedience.

I read in an essay on government that “goals freely adopted are better than rules and enforcement.” Contrary to what one might think, the scriptures are not the rules and regulations of the kingdom of God. They are the call to love the God, who loves us and is waiting to welcome us home.

The destination is clear, So too is the way—acts of love from a pure heart sincerely carried out in good conscience toward God. There is no coercion, not from God (He won’t) nor the church (who shouldn’t), capable of empowering us to do this. If it can’t be done from a heart thirsting for God, it can’t be done.

With men, all but the decision to answer, is impossible. And it is God that leads us to that decision. The gospel, the good news, is with God all things are possible. Can God truly transform ordinary people? Can He make hearts and motives completely pure? He can and He will, in so far as we heed Him.

The world and many Christians are so fixated on the beginning and end of the commandment, they fail to see there’s a journey between them. It’s a long, long way from sinner to perfected saint. Stumbling, falling, and straying from the path happen along the way. That does not alter the destination, nor does it call for a new way of walking. It calls for a love for God that is so strong that we get back up and keep walking.

And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. Isaiah35:8