Life to Its Fullest
“For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” —Matthew 11:30
The parable of the prodigal son begins with a young man deciding to leave home (see Luke 15:12–13). You see, he thought he had it tough in his father’s house. Maybe he was tired of school or work or responsibilities. So off he went, saying, “Look, I’m tired of these constraints and the restrictions of living here at home.” But this young man came to himself. He realized this was not what life was all about. He saw for himself that his pursuits were empty.
This is a picture of our relationship with God. We sometimes say, “I don’t want God’s constraints on my life. I don’t want to live by what the Bible teaches. I want to find my own way.”
Maybe you were raised in a Christian home or went to Sunday school and church as a child. Perhaps you heard the truth of the Bible and the commandments of God and said, “That’s so restrictive. I don’t want to live that way.” And so you went out and lived the way that you wanted to and broke those commandments.
Perhaps, like the prodigal son, you’ve come back to where you started and have said, “God’s commandments make sense. I can see that God knows what He is talking about when He tells us to be faithful and honest and compassionate.”
God doesn’t give us these standards to make us miserable. He gives them to us to liberate us, to free us, and to help us to live life to its fullest. These are not bars that hold us in. Rather, they are protective barriers that God puts around our lives to keep evil out, to keep us close to Him, and to keep us safe.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org.
Copyright © 2006 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.