The Revelation of Jesus with Rick Sterling~

 Lay Down the Law~

When I was a young child an expression was used in my house by my mom and dad that was designed to put the 'fear of God' into me and my siblings during "instructional times". "Instructional times" was when my parents would "Lay Down the Law" to us children, either singly or as a group, when they saw an opportunity to educate us in proper behavior when we would either do or say something that was outside of what needed to become normal behavior in our household. They understood that children only learn by doing, and if the 'doing' harms someone either emotionally or physically then correcting that behavior needs to happen Right Now, and not later. They also took seriously the fact their young children needed to learn to respect the authority of their parents as granted to them by God in situations where the child was unsure as to the operative quality of the behavior that they were demonstrating. This correction was not designed to scare us into proper behavior, it was designed to show us the error of our ways, and give us choices as to how to handle similar situations in the future. We learned that the 'fear' of God is not being frightened, but was demonstating love through obedience.

This approach held firm into our teenage years, and then into becoming adults, and played out in the fact that all four siblings learned good citizenship for behavior both inside and outside of the family.

This approach took a toll on our parents, and wasn't easy for us either, but was essential in turning out four successful and productive adult children.

God has "Layed down the Law" for our spiritual lives in Matt. 5:17, that if practiced will eventually carry us through from believing lies as if they are the truth, to knowing the Truth through learning the Law, the Prophets, and the words of Jesus given to Him by His Father in Heaven.