Deuteronomy 6:20-25 On This Side of the Cross

Deuteronomy 6:20-25

“When your son asks you in time to come,

‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?’

then you shall say to your son,

‘We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt.

And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.

And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and grievous,

against Egypt and

against Pharaoh and all his household,

before our eyes.

And he brought us out from there,

that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers.

And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes,

to fear the LORD our God,

for our good always,

that he might preserve us alive,

as we are this day.’

And it will be righteousness for us,

if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God,

as he has commanded us.’”

Deuteronomy 6:20-25 this side of the cross

When your son or daughter asks you in time to come,

“Mom and/or Dad, why do we do all of these things? What is the meaning of these commands and songs and prayers and testimonies and baptisms and communion and sermons and Home Group meetings and acts of service and telling people about Jesus?”

Then you shall say to your son or daughter,

            “We were slaves of sin and enslaved to the fear of death. We were blind to our blindness, in the domain of darkness, under the heavy hand of the wicked Prince of Darkness.

            And the LORD brought us out with a mighty hand. It was SO amazing!

He showed his unstoppable power through unassuming weakness. He so loved us that he sent his only Son to enter this dark world, taking on our flesh and blood. He lived the perfect life that we could not live so that he could be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. And he died in our place on a shameful, cursed cross so that the curse would fall on him and not on us. He was condemned – it looked like weakness and a defeat – so that we would be pardoned.

Do you see the power of the cross?!

The signs and wonders, great and grievous, that you expect on the day of the Lord’s deliverance fell not on us, not on any earthly enemies, but on Jesus! Deep darkness at midday, rocks splitting, the earth shaking – it was all evidence of God’s righteous wrath being poured out on his Son! It looked like the Son of God was bound in weakness to a wooden cross, but really he was binding the Prince-of-Darkness Strongman and plundering his house!

            And he brought us out from there, he rescued us,

that he might bring us in – home to himself. He reconciled us to God. We have peace with God now through our Lord Jesus Christ. We’ve been adopted into his family. Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus. And not only that, but he went away to prepare a place for us. One day he will return in power and make all things new! And we will inherit the earth! Not this old earth with all its brokenness and groaning and pollution, but a new heavens and new earth where there will be no more death or crying or pain anymore. We will see God face-to-face and walk in the light of his face forever! That’s when we’ll experience the fullness of what it means that he brought us out…to bring us IN!

And the LORD commanded us to do all these things,                     

to fear the LORD our God,

                        for our good always,

                        not in order to live and be accepted,

but because he has made us alive together with Christ, because Jesus Christ is himself our righteousness, and because we are already accepted and loved and have eternal life in him.

Parenting. Vacation.

You’ve burned the candle at both ends for a little too long. You’ve planned and anticipated. And it’s finally here. You’ve packed up and packed in. And now you’re off!

You’re not even a mile down the road and the bickering begins. Then your little parental tirade begins (or was that a temper tantrum?!). “WHAT is the problem?! We are going on VA-CATION!”

If you’re really peeved, you might even pull out the old “If you don’t stop it right now, we can just turn the car around and not go!” idle threat. As if.

You’re thinking, “What is their problem?! Why can’t they be happy and peaceful for just A FEW minutes?!”

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? (James 4:1)

We, the parents, are upset about the fights and quarrels in the back seat. But we fight and quarrel too. Hmmm…little mirrors, our kids. Our reactions are evidence of passions at war within us. What do we want? We want a hiatus from all hassles. We want a vacation from parenting. We want, as Paul Tripp says, “self-parenting children.” And when we don’t get it, we get angry. We fight and quarrel.

What can we learn from all this?

A few lessons learned from these impulses:

• Our greatest problems are inside, not outside.

Sorry, you brought your biggest problem with you on vacation. It’s your own sinful heart.

We need to come to terms with our inveterate situational interpretation of sin. “I was tired….” “If he hadn’t….” “I had a bad day at work and so when she said…I just exploded.” As if everyone and everything else is at fault when we sin. As if we are not culpable. As if. Oh no. Circumstances and people “out there” can only tempt us to sinful responses. They cannot cause them. Situations and people don’t inject the sludge into our souls that spews out in times of conflict. It’s already in there. It just gets heated up by means of the friction of conflict and challenging circumstances.

• The answers to our greatest problems are not situational.

Vacations don’t solve problems. No matter how perfect the location, weather, accommodations, etc., you will still take your sin with you and your kids will still take their sin with them. Don’t ever put your hope in vacation.

A few lessons to learn for these impulses:

• Vacation is not a vacation from our need for Jesus.

Whether we “feel” it or not, we are just as much in need of God’s grace on vacation as any other time. In fact, on vacation it can be even easier to get lulled to sleep, forgetting that we are still at war (hyperlink Eph. 6:10-18).

• Vacation is a special time to drink deep at the well of God’s grace.

How often do Christians say, “I just don’t have time to read and pray like I want to.” And then they get on vacation and…they don’t read and pray like they “want to.” We make time for what we want to make time for. If the desire fire is low, you’ve got to throw more wood on the fire if you’re ever going to burn hot again.

• Vacation is an important time to invest grace in the souls of your children.

Die to the desire for a vacation from parenting. Your vacation is a wonderful opportunity to do some heavy investing.

Paul Tripp encourages parents, when conflict comes among the children, to stop and ask them, “What is important to you right now?” They want what they want and they want it now. They need to see that they want what they want more than they want to please God and love their neighbor (sibling).

This question can be helpfully asked by parents of themselves as well. When conflict comes with the children, stop and ask yourself (esp. when you start fuming that “ALL YOU WANT” is just a little peace and quiet, etc.), “What is important to me right now?” Is comfort, ease, “a break” more important to me than the glory of God, the good of my children, loving my neighbor (spouse or child), etc.?

Vacation time often exposes false hopes and expectations. It’s easy to put our hope in our vacation – as if true rest and comfort and refuge is a place and a time and a set of circumstances – and not a Person.

Matthew 11:28-30 is still the answer, even on vacation.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.