“One day when my son was little, I taught him to look for cars before he crossed the street.
Then, I asked him as we went across, “are there any cars?” He said “yes!” . I looked, and there weren’t. I told him so, and we crossed.
The next time, I asked again. “Do you see any cars?” “Yes!” He said again. When I told him there weren’t, he said, “Yes there are! Don’t you see them? Right there!” He was pointing to a parked car a block away.
I realized, I had explained the “law” to him…look for cars before you cross the street.
But I hadn’t explained the “end in which the the law was given,” as Nephi says (2 Nephi 25:25). I hadn’t explained the why, and so, he simply looked for cars..moving or not..when we crossed the road.
And it made me think, how many laws do I follow without truly looking towards the why?
Nephi wrote, “Wherefore, we speak concerning […] the deadness of the law; that our children, by knowing the deadness of the law, may look forward unto that life which is in Christ, and know for what end the law was given.“ (2 Nephi 25:27) . He taught the law and lived the law in a way that constantly looked to the why..Christ.
And so, the very Law that was a stumbling block to the Jews was a stepping stone for Nephi.
And even though the law of Moses is now dead..the why of our commandments today is still the same, so we can look to Christ.
There is no power in bread or water itself—or in the new youth program or in keeping the sabbath day holy or any other commandment.
The power comes as it leads us to Christ. . “We are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments.” (2 Nephi 25:25) . I remember sitting on the sidewalk that day and teaching my son the why. And committing to myself that I would always explain the why to him. Especially when the why is Christ. Now, years later, he still looks both ways and says “no MOVING cars, mom!” . He knows the why.. And hopefully, he is learning to know The Why too.”
Mary Stallings, ComeFollowMeDaily, Instagram, February 22, 2020