You put your whole self in

Whenever we are doing an exam, we like to know the pass mark.  If you know the pass mark, you get a bit of breathing space.  You know there is a little wriggle room, you can get that question wrong and it will still be OK.  It gives you some confidence.

Over the next few questions, the catechism is going to look at God's law.  It begins by asking a question about the pass mark.

Q7. What does the law of God require?

A. Personal, perfect and perputal obedience; that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength; and love our neighbour as ourselves.  What God forbids should never be done and what God commands should always be done.

The highlighted section, giving the short answer, comes straight from the lips of Jesus.   It is his summary of the whole law of God, taken from a couple of verses in the Old Testament.  Jesus tells us that God's law requires us to LOVE.  To love God and love each other.    The two are connected - we can't just love God and ignore our neighbour.  Neither can we truly love our neighbour unless we love God too.   We aren't to be half hearted in our love, we shouldn't hold anything back - we must put our whole self into loving God and loving each other.

The rest of the answer spells out for us what it means to 'put our whole self in'.  From this we learn:

• Obedience must be personal not robotic!

Robots are being used in many different settings now - from self driving cars to vaccum cleaners, production lines to operating theatres.   Robots can be programmed to do a task, and they will carry it out repeatedly in exactly the same way.    You can tell a robot do this, and don't do that - and every time it does this and never does that.

Obedience to God's law must be done by a person - one who chooses to obey rather that programmed to obey.  A person who says YES to God's law and no to other ways.

Part of being a person, is having the ability to make choices.  To decide to do one thing, and not another.  By saying God requires PERSONAL obedience, the catechism means he requires each individual person to CHOOSE to obey him.

Now, I might be labouring this point - but it is important.  It affects how we view Jesus.  His obedience to God's law was personal, not robotic.  We might think - he is God, it wasn't possible for him to sin, and so we get this impression that he went about this world obeying God's commands in some sort of robotic fashion.  That was not the case.  His obedience was personal, it was possible for him not to obey - but each time, in the face of each temptation he choose to obey.

• Obedience must be perfect

We may think we can get away with a few little things - cover them up, sure they don't harm anyone.  Yet, God asks for perfect obedience.  And he doesn't simply want us to do the right thing - but to do it with all our heart.  No pretence.  No going along begrudingly.  He wants us put our whole self in!

• Obedience must be continual

Everyone has a good day.  Now and then, everyone has a bad day.  When is comes to being judged by God, we can't choose which day to submit, like an artist choosing which piece of work to submit to a competition.  He requires perfect obedience, all of the time.

• It's both yes and no

We often think of law as negative.  The law tells me the things I shouldn't do, and warns me I'm in trouble if I do them.  God's law does containing warnings; but it also contains positive commands.  And we need both.  We need warning and encouragement.  Yes and no.    To keep God's law we need to do good, as well as not do bad!

When we consider all that God's law requires, it can crush us.  The good news, is that someone has personally fulfilled all the requirements of the law for us.  His name is Jesus.  As you seek and fail to keep God's law - rest in Jesus.