Why All The Rules?

I am willing to bet that every adult can remember a time where this question was at the front of their mind.

"What's the deal with all these rules?

There may even be some teens reading this who are asking this same question. I know that for me there were many times when I was confronted with "the rules" in a situation and didn't like them. They didn't make sense. They seemed stupid. What was the point of all these rules?

I can imagine that the Israelites in the Old Testament thought the same thing about God. They were in slavery for many years before God sent Moses in for the rescue. Now that they were free, God was giving them all of these rules in Exodus - Deuteronomy. It seemed like the list would never end. There was a law for every little thing.

As I stand here in life as an adult and parent, I find myself laying out a lot of rules. I have learned a great lesson about the rules: there is a good reason for most rules. The rules aren't just there for no reason. There is always something behind the rules that have led to that rule.

Many people do not follow after Christ because they see Christianity as nothing more than a list of "do's & don'ts" (with a lot more don'ts than do's). The little child in all of us rises up and asks, "why all the rules?" God gives a hint in Leviticus 19:9-18 where He says five times that these things are given because He is the Lord. The purpose behind all the rules are the protection ultimately of the glory of God.

There is nothing that God is more concerned with than His glory. He has given laws for His people to live by not to keep all the fun out but so that they will bring the most glory to Him. The ways in which Christians live their lives is a reflection on God. If a person claims that Christ has come into their life and changed them, then the way they live reflects who Jesus is and what He is capable of dong in a person's life.

Just as we mature as a person and begin to realize the purpose behind the rules, may we mature as followers of Jesus and see that our obedience to His commands brings Him much glory especially in the eyes of those who are searching for truth and hope.