The inconceivable notion that the law of God is burdensome has led many to minimize the greatness of the law. The law is arcane because it is thought to be burdensome. If the law was known to be light, it would be sought with fervent passion. The law expresses the virtue of God’s covenant community. We are a virtuous redeemed people. There is nothing more precious to God than for His people to respond with grateful obedience. The Jews adored the law of God because it represented their distinct nature from the surrounding peoples. Eugene Peterson writes:
The Hebrews would no more have considered the covenant ten commandments as a burden in living a life of faith than a person would call nouns, verbs, and prepositions a burden in carrying on a conversation” (Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work, p.81).
Peterson’s point is that the law is natural to God’s covenant people. The law is perfect and it is a badge representing covenant loyalty. Only the redeemed sees and experiences this. Once the law is seen as light it opens the window of commitment that is so rare in our world. Obedience to this law is pleasant and it gladdens the soul.