Therefore the
Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be
justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor (Galatians 3:24-25)
Sometimes, I just
have to laugh at what God does. This morning, as I explained to people who
haven't talked with me over the past couple weeks, I shared my suspicion that
once the doctor gives me permission to go back to wearing a shoe on my left
foot, it's not likely I'll refrain from doing things I probably should not do.
The boot reminds me that I'm supposed to be restricting activity levels. It
makes it difficult to do things I shouldn't be doing. A good pair of walking or work shoes would
probably protect my foot nicely, but it would be required to protect my foot
from a wider variety of circumstances. As much as I want to be rid of the boot,
there's part of me that knows me too well. That part of me says, "Keep the
boot."
In one of my
Sunday School classes, we're discussing Romans, and part of the discussion had
to do with the purpose of the Law. One of those purposes, as described in
today's Scripture, is as a tutor, teacher or guardian. Its job is to instruct
us when we're doing right and wrong, and teach us to do right. The teacher went
on to describe two abuses of the Law, one being legalism (thinking that keeping
the law is our means to please God) and the other being antinomianism (license,
the idea that we have salvation and therefore we can do whatever we want.)
As I said, I have
to laugh. My boot is the Law. It tells me what I can and can't do. My shoes
are, at least at the moment, license. None of us keep the Law. I have done
things in my boot that I should not have done. No one may have said
specifically that I should not do them, but I knew I should not have been doing
them and I did them anyway. I'm thankful
for the boot, however, because I know that without it, I'd be doing even more
that I shouldn't. If you've never worn
an air cast boot, think of the comparison between wearing hiking boots and flip
flops.
So, why did God
allow me or cause me to tear the ligaments and tendons that connect my toe to
the plantar plate? Because by doing so, He was helping me explain that the
reason for the Law is to proscribe limits in order to prevent damage that would
occur if we wore only our consciences, or perhaps no moral code at all. It was never meant to heal us, any more than
a cast actually produces healing, but properly used, it promotes the sort of
behavior that will allow healing to occur.
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Birthday of
James Buchanan Eads
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