Rules, rules, rules! Every where you turn there are rules.
That’s not a bad thing. Rules help us to know how things should be done. They also help us to stay safe and help others to be safe.
Some rules change as we mature. “Stay in our yard”, changed to “Stay on our block” and eventually to “Be careful and safe wherever you are going.”
Some things simply do not work without rules. I loved it when our boys were little and they wanted us to play “no rules basketball.” I would simply say, “Okay, I won, game over.” They would protest, “But we didn’t even play.” To which I would respond, “Who said we had to play, there are no rules, so I win.” Of course I didn’t win, because there were no rules.
God has rules. Why?
We need to know who we are. We are made in the image and likeness of God. We can never be happy and complete until we learn to live the way we were made to live.
So God tells us what it means to live in his image. He tells us by giving us rules and showing us examples. The greatest example being Jesus himself and all of the things he has told us.
When you read the Bible, try not to read it like a rule book. Look at it as the heart of God being revealed to you. The Spirit of God influencing you to grow your spirit into the likeness of his Spirit. Strive to understand what he is saying and why he is saying it to us.