And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought Him to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord. Luke 2:22
Many of us have heard the account of a Christian man who was working for a company that became involved in some questionable business dealings. At one point, the Christian’s employer came to him to ask him to fill incorrect information into the company’s ledgers. Being an honest man, the Christian told his boss that he could not perform the work with a good conscience. The boss told him he would have to let him go because he needed someone who would be willing to ‘cook the books’. A few days later, the Christian received a job offer from another company. He later learned that his former boss had recommended him highly for the position, saying ‘this man will neither steal for you nor from you’. This type of honesty should be expected of us as Christians. As we read in our text, obedience to Scriptural principles was important to Mary and Joseph, too.
The Law of Moses laid out specific instructions for the purifying of a new mother. Our text indicates that Mary and Joseph followed the law’s instructions carefully. And they also carefully followed the instructions for presenting their family’s Firstborn to the Lord. These people made it a point to know what the Word of God said, and to follow it faithfully. There was a cost to their obedience, but they were willing to pay it because they were people who understood the importance of obeying the Lord. They set a good example for you and me today.
We don’t have the rules and regulations of the law to follow, as they pertained to the children of Israel. But the Word of God has instructions for us, expectations that God has for His people today. Obedient Christians will not live contrary to what the Word of God teaches, whether in small matters or in large. The life of the Lord Jesus, including His teachings, and the example of the early Christians in the book of Acts, give us a good pattern to follow. And the epistles lay down for us the way in which Christians and our Assemblies should behave before God and the world. We don’t need to be in any doubt as to what God wants of us, as long as we read our Bibles. We are taught some of the principles of Christian living that never change, including the honesty we have already noted. Kindness and compassion are also part of God’s requirements for us, as are submission to authority, decency and morality, truthful words, and so forth. If we are obedient, we will observe these things.
Is obedience to our Lord’s commands important to us? The way we live will tell others whether it is important. – Jim MacIntosh