Keep my Mitzvahs...

Mitzvah is the Jewish word for laws or commandments, particularly from God. A mitzvah is a command by which we are to direct our lives. Of course, as creatures endowed with God's spirit we also possess free will.

Laws were historically preceded by proverbs or wise sayings in the lands of Mesopotamia, Sumeria and Egypt. Proverbs are considered wisdom literature. They speak of ways of "right living" that reflect the mores of a society.  What we would call today, "the conventional wisdom." Of course life can demonstrate to us that following the proverbs does not necessarily guarantee a flawless experience. 


Cuineform, an early proto-form of writing developed in Sumeria was some of the first inscription to record actual laws on stone. Being more specific than a proverb, early lists or codices of laws were developed to meet individual circumstances: killing. stealing, abuse, denigrating a god's property. One of the most famous is the Code of Hammurabi: an attempt to set up a judicial system regarding conduct and resultant punishment if the code is not followed.

For the Ten Commandments , we often remember their opening phrase "Thou shalt not" more than the "Remember,"  and "Honor" phrases spoken of in two of the commandments. 


In Jesus' commandment to keep his commandments, how do "remember" and "honor' play a part in carrying out these elements in our daily lives. What are the commandments he wants us to keep? 
What happens if we don't keep them? How is this conventional wisdom for our time?

John 14:15-21
14:15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.

14:17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

14:18 "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.

14:19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live.

14:20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

14:21 They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them."

Walter Morton for Journey Across the Line