FATHER, I’m reading an article on Beautifying the Commandments and it speaks of how the Jews saw the Mitzvahs (commandments) as “opportunities to do something good that You, God, had told them to do – NOT a burdensome regulations. This got me thinking about the cloud in the desert – on the one side, Israel saw it as good, for it provided protections, but to the Egyptian it presented a threat. In Romans there is much talk about the law and that it does appear to be burdensome, but again I think it’s how we see it, our perspective. It was never meant to save us, but to show us our need for a Savior. That there is good available in every circumstance comes when we are able to trust You, completely and without reservation, when our expectations are molded by Your grace. (If our expectation is that the law will save us, then it becomes the means of condemnation. If however, we see it as “opportunities” to show our love to You, then it can become a means of grace. Jesus met the legal requirements of the Law and paid the price for our sin. Through His resurrection, we are now free from it’s burden, from its condemnation – free to live in fellowship and communion with Him - forever. Obedience is no longer a “requirement” but a “desirement”) When we look to You as the provider of our peace and well being, the One who holds us in Your hands and near to Your heart, our rest and our security are in You.