Law

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 

 - From Romans 8

I made a new friend yesterday. She is an attorney whose specialty is insurance law. She does not litigate, but instead conducts analysis for pending cases. Insurance cases are more like reviewing the terms of a contract, and ensuring they are followed faithfully. A lot of these cases do not make it into trial - they are settled via a mediator. The analysis phase is critical to a successful outcome for the client. Good lawyers seek favorable outcomes for their clients. Outstanding lawyers go for win-win.

The topic of law, therefore, was very much on my mind as I read today's passage, which deals in the Old Testament law and  how Christ made it null and void by paying the ultimate price for human sin.

God had sentenced humanity to the death sentence. He could not have willful beings that practice such hate towards each other, living forever. But a single, finite life would give them a taste of freedom and of life itself. If they enjoyed life enough, they would be motivated to do what it takes to attain eternal life.

There would be a final judgment (it is still to come), which would render the final judgment and sentencing for anyone that ever lived. Except that God had a bizarre approach: After serving as prosecutor, policeman, and jailer of humanity, He would appoint His Son as the lead defense attorney, thus ensuring a legal victory for humanity, forever.

Christ's defense team was superlative. Jesus researched the case by living among humans for 33 years. There were some mysterious years between his boyhood and adulthood, where perhaps He read, studied, and conducted experiments. Perhaps He took field trips throughout the universe, and to all ends of the earth. But when the time came to reveal Himself as humanity's Advocate, He was more than ready.

We think of "The Law" as being completely null and void, once Christ's life had ended. That is true, regarding the Old Testament, Mosaic law. But it had never occurred to me, that there still is a law in effect: the law of the Spirit of life in Christ.

We are in a point in history, where the idea of law itself, is coming under attack. The pushback, in American streets today, is a natural resistance to harsh law - the police-centered, prison and justice orientation of any orderly society. Nobody likes being pulled over for a traffic violation. Who doesn't cringe when a cop car files in behind them, on a highway? We are willful humans and don't like being controlled, or monitored. We can all relate to the Law of Moses. Judgments, corrections, penalties. These are not warm concepts.

Protests against the legal system means that there is such a thing as a legal system that makes us all comfortable. Is that even possible? We want people to act as we want them to. And we have no problem penalizing others, that violate our own standards. But that is not a win-win.

Christ is that law that makes us all comfortable. The law of the Spirit, is a system where people evaluate themselves. They analyze their own behavior. They judge themselves. They check their behavior. They change. And they ensure that all others are okay, as well.

It's hard to accomplish that without the Spirit . . . without Christ.