Do you strive to live your life by the law? Perhaps you’ve never really thought about it. Most of us are taught very young about the things we cannot do if we are to be a good person. We cannot steal from others, make up lies, hit, bite, be selfish, jealous, or cheat in school. Don’t waste, don’t litter, don’t be rude, don’t try to kill anyone. The list of rules and regulations is endless. When our minds are so full of rules we leave ourselves open to the enemy’s attack. We focus so much on getting it right that we beat ourselves up every time we fail. And we do fail, every one of us, every day, in God’s eyes. It can become a miserable feeling of self-defeat and disappointment. You may feel like the woman Jesus encountered one Shabbat (Sabbath). “A woman came up who had a spirit which had crippled her for eighteen years; she was bent double and unable to stand erect at all.” (Luke 13:10)

Do you know yet that there is a way to live free and full of joy? The first word of God’s first law is all that is necessary– “Love.” If you live your life truly loving God, you will also truly love your neighbors. When that happens you will no longer have the desire to steal, lie, cheat, be selfish or jealous. You will want to build people up, not tear them down. The entire Bible points to one remedy. The answer is always love. God is Love and Love changes everything. “On seeing her, Yeshua [Jesus] called her and said to her, ‘Lady, you have been set free from your weakness!’ He put his hands on her, and at once she stood upright and began to glorify God.” (Luke 13:12-13)

“Those who do not love, do not know God; because God is love.” (1 John 4:8) Choose which way you will walk, bent double under the weight of the law or upright and free by the power of Love.