For much of my life, delight was not the word that came to mind when I thought about God’s commands. Even though I may have been told otherwise, God’s commands seemed like a list of opportunities for me to disappoint people or like a checklist of strictures that God consulted when he looked me over.

“Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands” (Psalm 112:1). Why would I delight in God’s commands? 

Here’s a realization that changed things for me. Each of God’s commands has to do with love. God’s love for us, our love for God, our love for neighbor, and love for ourselves as creatures loved by God. It’s true. Find a list of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 and look them over. Can you see God’s fingerprints of love? Take some time with the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ teaching on loving God, others, and self in Matthew 5-7. Do you see an opportunity to delight in God’s commands by following Jesus’ teaching on love?

What about Jesus’ words: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34)? When I remember to love others, regardless of whether I find their opinions and behavior palatable, life opens into a blossom of blessing for them and for me. Anger and fear dissipate. Jesus knows what he’s talking about!

Lord God, let us see your rules for living well as a chance for delight and an opportunity to love. Amen.