As we continue our journey through the Commandments we see a transition this week. After a bit of a rest we start to look at the guidance God provides for how we interact with each other. Our focus this week is the first commandment with a promise. God explains the order of things and the results achieved from keeping things in order. Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
 
There is a certain order to things in life. If you have ever purchased an item with “some assembly required” you know what I mean. A racecar falls into that category, there are many moving parts, many options, many adjustments but they have to be done in an orderly and controlled fashion to get the right results.
 
Building a racecar is about putting things in order; chassis, suspension, motor, driver’s compartment, body panels, and graphics. I know there are a few other things but you get the idea, you have to build things in the right order. I’ve seen some great teams come together because one had a chassis and another had a motor. Put together they made a pretty good race team.
 
God is a God of order; in creation things were put in place in a certain order, the order that God determined as Creator. The rules he provides us to live by also have an order. Let’s take a look at that quick list of the Ten Commandments;
 
1 You shall have no other gods before Me.
2 You shall not make idols.
3 You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
4 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5 Honor your father and your mother.
6 You shall not murder.
7 You shall not commit adultery.
8 You shall not steal.
9 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10 You shall not covet.
 
In creation God has a certain order to things and if we look at the way he reveals things to us we start to see that. Pretty clear who’s first, God is above all things, He holds all things together. He is the creator and without Him nothing as we know it would exist. He doesn’t want us to put things in His place; Idols. He doesn’t want us to just say we acknowledge Him, He wants us to mean it. He also reminds us to set aside time to remember that and enjoy what He provided for us.
 
Then we move on to how we need to remember those who delivered us here on earth. We all have parents, some good some not so good, but the fact remains, without a mom and dad we wouldn’t be here. Each one contributed to the makeup of who we are, a unique individual under God. God reminds us that we need to honor that.
 
Exodus 20:12; NLT; “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
 
This Commandment comes with a promise attached, if you do this this will happen. Let’s explore the significance and implication of that a little. The first five commandments can be simply put, remember where you come from with respect and honor: God first, family second. If we do that we can expect to have things go well for us, a long full life, but not just anywhere but in the land the Lord is giving you.
 
Time to unpack. God has a provision for us, Ephesians 2:10 says He prepared it in advance for each of us. So here goes; Fear (respect) God, He created you, He has a place for you, He loves you and He desires to have a relationship with you. Honor your parents, they provided a way for us to enter into the world. Without these two things in order there is no hope for living life another way. We can obey all the laws we want but they are secondary to having the right priority of things.
 
Jesus when asked what must be done to inheriting eternal life indicated; ‘you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Do this and you will live!
 
Putting the cart before the horse is an old saying but its meaning is applicable. In general it means getting things out of order. When we focus on the wrong things in life we will not succeed. When we have things out of order it will not go well for us. God puts our world in order. Only when we follow His order of things will it go well in the land he provides.
 
We want things to go well. We then need to put things in order. The society we live in today is out of order. We have elevated things on a priority position above God and Family. We are free to do that but when things don’t go well for us what is the answer? Put thing back in order, God’s order.
There is an implication here that I think we need to address, not everyone has a great mom or dad. Some of us do not know the blessing of a strong family unit. I understand, but more importantly God understands. Let me suggest that there are people that helped each one of us grow and develop into the people we are today, they are the ones that loved us enough to set aside their lives for our benefit. They are the ones we must honor. From there we must make an effort to change the story moving forward. We must build a strong foundation for those we bring into the world. We must teach, guide nurture and love them into a life that acknowledges God and honors him. When we do it will go well for us, we will live a long and full life in the land that God has given us.
 
Rules to live by, we will keep exploring them further. Until next time, remember God loves you and Jesus is Lord over Auto Racing! God Bless. Remember, that your prayerful support helps us continue this ministry. Thank You.