Note from Petey
October 2025

Recently, Ashley and I went to visit our oldest daughter on her college campus. One evening, we were out walking alone when a group of random students passed us and made some comments to themselves about “parents’ weekend.” They just took one look at us and assumed we were parents in town on a visit.  

Now, I’ll be honest, that stung a little. Nobody mistook us for college students, that’s for sure! It bruised the ego just a bit. But the thing is… they weren’t wrong.

That moment stuck with me because it reminded me of walking through the Ten Commandments as a church. If we’re being honest, they can be a little bruising to the ego, too. They’re like a mirror that doesn’t lie. We may want to think of ourselves as faithful, loving, patient, or humble people, but then we hold up God’s commands and realize, “Oh wow, I fall short here more often than I’d like to admit.”

And here’s the thing: it’s not wrong. The commandments show us the truth about ourselves. As Paul puts it in Galatians 3:24, “So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.” In other words, the bruising isn’t the end of the story. God doesn’t hold up a mirror so we’ll feel embarrassed or ashamed. He holds it up so we’ll turn to Jesus. The Ten Commandments show us our need for grace, and Jesus meets that need fully.

So yes, it stings a little when strangers on campus automatically assume you’re a parent instead of a student. And it stings a lot more when Scripture reminds us we’re not as faithful to God as we like to think we are. But both of those moments can actually be gifts. They push us out of the illusions we cling to and into the truth. And in God’s truth, there’s always grace.

That’s what I hope we keep remembering as a church family: the commandments don’t crush us, they point us to freedom in Christ. The mirror may be honest, but it’s not unkind. It’s there to help us see what’s real so we can live in the gift of God’s mercy.

So if these weeks in the Ten Commandments feel a little heavy at times, don’t be discouraged. Let it draw you closer to Jesus. He’s the one who fulfilled the law for us, and He’s the one who gives us grace when we fall short.

Much love,
Petey