Many people object to Christianity because they believe it has too many rules. They cannot in good conscience shackle their freedom to the capricious rules of a judgmental deity. We’ve all heard this argument before, but let’s take a closer look; what exactly are the rules they find so oppressive? I suspect that most people think that don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, honor your father and mother, and rest one day a week are pretty good ideas and may even form the backbone of a civilized society, so what’s their real objection? The rub comes with the first three commandments; you shall have no other gods, don’t worship idols, and use the name of God respectfully.

We humans are quite reluctant to relinquish the throne to the real King because we have become so accustomed to indulging our every regal whim. The posture of a servant seems quite unappealing. How dare Someone ask us to get the knees of our divine designer jeans dirty with the soil of service! Life as a naked emperor, however, gets a bit chilly when the cold wind of reality blows through our illusory kingdom and we are forced to take stock of our ability to weather the coming cultural storm. We have a choice; we can defiantly shiver as the frostbite of human pride sets in, or we can bend a knee to a God who already anticipated the frosty wilderness weather and sacrificially covered our nakedness with a lamb’s coat of forgiveness.