It’s Not That Difficult!
by Lindsey Hanekom
I am immensely grateful that I grew up in a home environment that encouraged my spiritual growth as well as my physical growth. I have many fond memories of reading my Bible in my bedroom and getting exciting about a passage, knowing I had found another ‘gem’ in God’s Word.
Yet, there was so much I didn’t understand. I struggled my way through Leviticus in a haze of vague confusion. I battled through the seemingly unending saga of Job and his three very annoying friends (well, that is how I perceived them as a child!) I gritted my teeth and read of all the bloodshed through King David’s reign, not really understanding how such violence had any meaning in my life today. I enjoyed much of the New Testament but still found myself living in a sense of not wanting to get it ‘wrong’, or missing something vital hidden in the depths of the long words. I just wanted to love God.
Not much has changed today! I still don’t understand as much of the Bible as I would hope. I still have to battle my way through confusion or lack of knowledge as I try to read through the Scriptures.
When I read the simplicity of this verse I felt like I had taken a breath of fresh air. For those of us who are not theologians, who don’t understand the intricacies of biblical doctrine and just want to ‘love God’, we can be encouraged. It isn’t difficult. You don’t need to be highly intelligent or understand the Greek and Hebrew derivatives – you just need to obey His commandments.
So as we look at obeying His commandments let’s remember what Jesus Himself said, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbour as yourself. 'There is no commandment greater than these’ (Mark 12:30-31).
Prayer: Father God, I may not understand all I read in the Bible but I pray that You would simply help me to obey Your commandments because my heart is to love You, regardless of how much or little I understand.
Lindsey Hanekom Lindsey has worked at all of our UK centres over the years and has settled at Ellel Scotland with her husband, Johann and their two young children, Kyle and Zoe. As part of the Leadership Team at Ellel Scotland, Lindsey has a heart for the deeply broken as she oversees the prayer ministry and is an established and passionate teacher with Ellel. In her spare time, Lindsey enjoys the natural world, particularly the ocean, and is trained as a specialist medic to assist stranded and injured marine mammals.
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