True Love Revealedနမူနာ

True Love Revealed through The Law

Nobody likes being told what to do. We consider any kind of rule or law to be restrictive. We desire freedom. We want to be able to do what we want to do. We even think we know what is best for us and do not need anyone else telling us differently. When we experience the restrictive nature of rules or laws, it is hard for us to associate that with love. Laws usually do not feel loving, especially when it can be something like a police officer writing a speeding ticket.

The concept of law is a concept born out of love. God has set up laws to govern creation, and God gave The Law to His People (us), not to restrict us from good things, but to protect us from bad things. Law, in general, has three primary functions. First, laws bring and keep order. It is a wonderful thing that the law of gravity exists, even though it means we can fall out of a tree and get hurt. Without laws that we can depend on to govern the universe, there would be no order in our lives. We would have no idea how to live from one day to the next.

The Law also restrains evil. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said that "The law could not make a man love him, but it could help keep a man from attacking him." His life, sadly, proves the law is imperfect in restraining evil, but it is certainly helpful in doing so. Jesus said that Moses gave laws concerning divorce because of the hardness of people's hearts. Women were routinely mistreated and discarded by their husbands, so God had Moses give laws concerning the "what, when, and how" of divorce to protect the society (especially women) from evil. God gives us the Law to protect us from evil as an act of supreme love.

Finally, The Law is "a teacher" that points us to our need for a Savior. By having the Law, we have an objective standard by which we can measure ourselves. We can, therefore, clearly see that we do not measure up to the standard of righteousness. By having the Law, we see that we can't keep the Law. We recognize our sin and our inability to meet God's standard. We come to understand our desperate need for a Savior. The Law points us to grace found in Christ, who is our only hope. The Law is an expression of God's great love for us. 

Take a moment and reflect on your life. Think about how God has revealed his Love to you through His protection.