When I did a Genesis-to-Revelation study of the Bible (we won’t talk about how long ago that was and how lax I have been lately), I read some commentary that said some of the dietary restrictions God gave the Israelites—rules that might sound arbitrary to us now—actually helped prevent disease back then.
I think the same is true of other rules He gave them, directives later absorbed by Christians as well—rules against jealousy and faithlessness, rules for honoring your parents and putting God first. These aren’t arbitrary edicts; they’re the pathway to spiritual and emotional health. They prevent diseases like hatred and violence and selfishness and spite.
I’ve had the (sad and unpleasant) opportunity to witnesses dissention between a couple of young people nearby, mostly, it seems to me, because one doesn’t understand or approve of the way the other chooses to live her life. The truth is, I see my young self in the judgmental one. Young and untested me believed everybody needed to live/think a certain way. It took life experience to open my mind—and Dave. He has a gift for taking people as they come and appreciating them for who they are, even if they don’t see the world the same way he does.
Watch the news for five minutes and you'll see that disease is rampant in our country—in our world—right now. My hope is that battling the physical illness that surrounds us will teach us lessons we won’t soon forget about spiritual afflictions because they spread just as easily and they’re just as dangerous. Jesus said:
“A new commandment I give to you,
that you love one another; as I have loved you,
that you also love one another.
By this all will know that you are My disciples,
if you have love for one another.”
John 13: 34-35
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