“You can’t park there!”
We saw the sign, but we parked anyway…
The teenage boy called out to us again as he walked by…
“Don’t park in that spot…”
“The guy who lives there will call the cops!”
I wasn’t worried…
We walked to the house and knocked on the door…
“The guy who lives there” is my father-in-law.
The sign isn’t meant for family…
Strong families have special rules for family members….
Sometimes the rules give special privileges…
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16
Sometimes the rules give special responsibilities…
Every night when they put my granddaughter to bed, my son-in-law and daughter repeat a simple sentence…
“Johnson girls”, they say, “are loving and fair and honest and kind to other people.”
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:12-14
“You shall have no other gods before me.
“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Exodus 20: 3;4;7;8;12;13;14;15;16;17
Always the rules remind us of who we are…
and Whose we are…
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:14-16
