Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring would come to whom the promise had been made.”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, May 14, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Rules have a purpose. The fact of the matter is that human beings are kind of a mess. Well, I can speak for myself, I guess. Left to my own devices, I would quickly fall back to where the driving force of my life would be, “I want what I want when and how I want it.” And that kind of motivation would lead me to bulldoze everyone and everything around me to satisfy my own desires. So I need rules. Or, maybe better, guidelines. For me that entails a highly structured daily practice within a recovery fellowship. That practice gets me in touch with God—a God who liberates in Christ Jesus. Being so liberated doesn’t mean I stop following my practice. On the contrary, I am so grateful for the liberation that practice gives me, so I continue it one day at a time hopefully for the rest of my life.
For everyone, there are basic societal laws in place that we need to follow to keep a general level of civility. But as with societies throughout history, our laws can and often are used to oppress. It makes me think Jesus’ liberation of us from the law is then a direct call to work to eliminate societal laws that aren’t life-giving. Certainly there are many Christians (and non-Christians) striving for that very thing. I wonder what Paul would have to say about that.
What does Jesus’ liberating action mean to me when I think about laws?
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