But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.
Galatians 4:4-5
We wrongly assume that the ‘law’ can fix our broken, messy lives. Jesus came into the world to show us that the law, in a sense, makes matters worse—that we cannot fix ourselves with the law. Think about it. Think about your relationships, think about your life circumstances and how even though it seems natural, logical, and common sensible to apply ‘law’…it never works. Still, something in us keeps convincing us that if we just keep reminding people about their flaws, faults, and idiosyncrasies, somehow, eventually, they will see the light, change, and thank us for helping them become better people (i.e. becoming us).
Jesus came to give us something better than more law or another law. He came to give us grace. He came to give us the one thing that heals everything by fixing nothing. Our lust to fix the proverbial it is itself the problem. You see, waiting on God to give us our best life now, to give us answers on how to repair a failing marriage, how to find a fulfilling career, are all symptoms of our craving for more law.
The law is good, but it kills us. Put your finger on that one thing, or multiple things, creating anxiety, depression, and exhaustion in your life… Beneath the surface, ultimately, is a demand you cannot satisfy. Jesus came into the world and lived under the ridiculously impossible demands of daily life that we all know — demands that we prove our worth on the job, that we earn the respect of our children and spouses, that we perfectly fulfill our vocations as godly parents, that we keep a spotless home even though we have toddlers, that we talk through difficult issues in our marriages instead of trying to avoid the landmines, etc.
Jesus perfectly navigated and lived under the law’s demands as they come to us in the interactions and experience of everyday life. He was tempted to seek the approval of others, He was tempted to validate himself in his work and ministry, He was tempted in every respect…as we are, yet He was without sin. And His perfect resistance to such temptations is our justification before God.
But the demands don’t stop after justification. Parenting continues to press you beyond your capacities, marriage continues to feel like a daily death instead of the perpetual bliss it promised to be (cf. Romans 7:10), work is killing us daily, stacks of unread books and unfinished household projects indict us as incurable procrastinators, the kids’ homework must be done before tomorrow, we must brush their teeth, the trash won’t take itself out, did we pay that bill?, is the checkbook balanced?, how much do we have in checking?…what about savings?, does the boss like me?, are we spending enough time in devotions as a family?…
Life’s demands continue to assault us…because the law continues to accuse. God doesn’t remove the ominous presence of the law. He doesn’t spare us from the thorn afflicting our flesh. Nor does He supply us the power to deal with all of life’s challenges. God actually allows our struggles to overtake us. The demands crush us…and we thereby come to know the One who was crushed for our inability to meet the demands. Jesus didn’t come into the world to give us a new or better ‘law’… He came to make us new creations.
COMMENTS
6 responses to “℞ecipe for a Miserable Life: The Weight of the Law in Everyday Circumstances”
Leave a Reply
Excellent. ????
Jason – really needed this today. Thank you!
Well said, Jason. Thanks.
Amen!
A light unto our feet and a lamp unto our path or is it a lamp unto our feet and alight unto our path – damn i just want to get it right. The law crushes and yet leads us to the beauty of Christ who perfectly kept a perfect law and laid himself down that we may rest in his perfect love.
Thanks for a great piece!
Perhaps you’ve written this somewhere – but how did the Torah / Jewish law get reinterpreted to mean our self-imposed rules for daily life? I think Paul was arguing the ineffectiveness and insufficiency of the Jewish law to prove to his Jewish brethren of its futility…Luther and his offspring (us) have reinterpreted it to mean all sorts of law.
Also, is it true that he doesn’t empower us to deal with our daily struggles? I thought that’s what the Holy Spirit does and what our life is like in the new creation.
“26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”
etc. etc.