The Lens of the Exodus

Ever since Tim Keller helped me to understand that the Gospel is not the "way in" to the Christian life but the "way on", not the "ABC" but the "A to Z" (obviously needs to be said as an American!) I've believed and taught vigorously that the Gospel is the lens through which we should view the whole of life. It effects everything; how we pray, our self esteem, how we view others, how we cope when stuff goes wrong, how we're motivated....the list goes on and on. What I hadn't fully appreciated until about 20 minutes ago was that we see this modelled in the Older Testament. In my QT's these days I'm in Deuteronomy and this morning I read:

If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, sells himself to you and serves you six years, in the seventh year you must let him go free. And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed. Supply him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.
Deut. 15:15

In other words Moses is instructing the people to view life through the lens of the Exodus. "Allow the reality of the Exodus, your deliverance from slavery - a deliverance that was not of yourselves but entirely of God - allow the truth and reality of this to infect the way you think about others."