Prescriptions for Loving God

A Lay Cistercian reflects on five sets of laws that enable us to seek God in everyday living. Until recently, when I was deep in the midst of one of my Lectio Divina (Phil 2:5) meditations, I thought that there was vast a dichotomy between The Law and The Spirit. The Law was bad because it was just a rule to be kept. If you followed the rule, I reasoned, you were a good boy or girl, acting appropriately. The law is not God but rather points to God because it comes from God, not you. The Spirit sets you free. These days, I see the Spirit and the Law as two sides of the same coin. The Spirit and the Flesh is the dichotomy. That I get from reading. Galatians 5. When you make The Rule the center of your spirituality, you risk being God. Rules are rather like street signs, pointing the way to a destination but not the destination itself. They are a means to an end. You don't take a trip to go to a street sign, you use the signs to help you find your destination, such as visiting mom and dad, or taking a vacation. It is how we use spiritual laws that allow us to love with our whole self that is important. What are these five sets of prescriptions? -The 163 prescriptions of Jewish practice from God?-The 10 Commandments-The Beatitudes-The Our Father-The One Command. There is a way to use these Laws that is authentic and a way that is like reading the phone book. This book delineates the difference.