In the Old Testament, God was often addressed as “Lord” and His covenant with His people was governed mostly by prohibitions, like “Thou shall not kill; thou shall not steal; thou shall not bear false witness; thou shall not covet.” That was thousand of years ago and today there is still a lot of carnage among men. People are still being killed through incessant wars and through the oppression and exploitation of the poor, the innocent and the defenseless. There is still a lot of pillage specially in high places. Leaders who are mandated to serve the people are often the first ones to ransack the public coffers. There are still a lot of lies being peddled as the truth. People are so held captive by their biases and prejudices that they fail to see the truth and reality.
And the paradox is that it is the simple and the ordinary people who have taken these commandments seriously. It is the poor, the innocent and the defenseless, the simple and humble folks who do not kill, do not steal, do not covet and do not bear false witness.
When Christ came, He taught us to call God our Father. And He gave us just one commandment. It is not a prohibition but an invitation to action: LOVE. He liberated those who would listen and wanted to follow Him from restrictive DON’Ts of the old order. Instead, He told them stories of the Good Samaritan, of the Father of the Prodigal Son, of the bountiful harvest, of the Good and Faithful Servants, of the Wise Virgins. And He said, “Go and do likewise.”