Matthew (learning)

What if there were no laws in our country? What do you think that would look like? The law is an essential part of any society that hopes to be healthy and safe. If we had no laws in our country, there would be no order. People would do what they wanted without boundaries, and we all know that people given such freedom would make decisions that would hurt the community as a whole. Every community, state, nation, province needs laws.

Something that really struck me this past week was how much I ignore the "law" that Jesus talked about. He said to the people that he came to fulfill the law of their day. They had laws like "Do not murder," "Do not commit adultery," and "Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce." In response to these things Jesus said, "Do not hate your brother," "Do not lust," and "Do not divorce, except on the grounds of sexual immorality." Jesus' law -- or way -- fulfills and trumps all the laws ever made by men. For example, those who hated another person would receive the same sentence as those who had murdered another person.

Jesus does not remove the law and replace it with love, but he fulfills it through love and if I'm not living in his law I am choosing to take the easier road, to do the bare minimum, to measure my goodness in the eyes of what men would say is good rather than the way God says is good. I have to admit, it's easier to justify hating my enemies, judging others, holding prejudices or bitterness, building my own financial security instead of thinking of others' needs, and hiding in religion.

I've resolved to go through what Jesus taught (Matthew 5-7) piece by piece and ask God to help me to live out the fulfilled law, BUT I have to say one more thing with this or else you will not understand what I mean. I am doing this with a prayerful understanding that I am not saved from my guilt of breaking the "law" by following the law better, but by asking God for his grace. This is my way of stepping out in my learning to love Jesus more fully rather than in complacency.

SO...my leader, president, king, and ruler is Jesus. Our law says not to murder. Jesus tells us not to hate, to forgive and to love our enemies. Pornography, adultery and divorce are the norm. Jesus says not to lust, but to live faithfully towards each other. Everything in industry is about making money, even if we have to cover up the truth. Jesus says to let our "yes" be yes and our "no" be no. And still in all of this, I know that my strength or hope is not found in doing any of these things, but in God's amazing grace...because in the end, it's never going to be enough. But still these things are all I want to do because of his amazing grace. I want to love him in return.