Scripture: Psalm 119:165
Great peace have those who love your law, help and nothing can make them stumble.

Thought for the Day: It’s easy to confuse the idea of God’s Law with our modern civil codes. Although the Ten Commandments certainly serve as the foundation of many modern laws, God’s Law has a deeper spiritual meaning as well. If we get stuck on the surface of God’s Law, we simply get human law—which is necessary but not everything. If we look at God’s Law as a spiritual gift we receive revelation.

God’s revelation is multi-layered and seemingly infinite. It requires us to read the Bible from many different points of view, with different lenses for each reading. One of the lenses I find enlightens my understanding of God is to read the Bible as the story of God’s revelation of self to humanity. By giving humankind the Law, we learn that God’s nature is universally loving and righteous. The Law isn’t given to us as a way for God to tick off boxes on our record—that’s civil law. God’s Law is given to help us live up to our fully human potential, and God helps us do that anyway! God’s Law isn’t a set of restrictions; it’s a set of instructions, a gift of freedom.

Prayer: Holy God of justice, may I see in the world around me the reflection of your loving nature; and find the peace that comes in living your Law of justice, compassion, unconditional love. Amen.