Living in the Spirit
November 15, 2018
Scripture Reading: Hebrews 10:15-18
And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,
‘This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds’,
he also adds,
‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
The USA purports to be a nation built on the rule of law. Laws of ourselves, created by ourselves, and for ourselves. Do we follow the laws of our land, and if so why? A friend and I were recently agreeing that there seems to be a trend in our city, of people choosing to run red lights, not entering the cross street even though the light just turned yellow but speeding up to enter the cross street when the light has obviously just turned red. What results is that most of the rest of us have become very cautious about entering the intersection without looking both ways more than once and holding our breath as we move forward. Selfishness has made this rule of law dysfunctional.
The rule of law is designed to be neutral, designed to protect the Common Good. It does not work when selfish bending of it becomes the informal rule. Laws need to be adjusted over time and revisited to determine that they are grounded in the Common Good, but they are necessary to maintain a semblance of order. The quality of any law does not matter if the law’s purpose is not accepted by most citizens.
The writer of Hebrews is acknowledging this truth when he writes that the Lord will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds. Laws become the means of providing order to what we hold as values in our hearts and minds. If I value the lives of my fellow citizens, I choose to follow rules that establish safe processes. This is an extremely simplistic example of the idea of the rule of law, but it is foundational to establishing a world ruled by love.
As my friend and I mused further about our traffic observations, I said, “Perhaps all these cameras we now have could take pictures of the license plates of those running a red light and issues them automatic tickets.” The alternative to a world ruled by love is a punitive rule of laws where attempts are made to provide the necessary order by enforcing punishment on those not following the law. Tickets work to remind people who normally obey laws that they missed one time and they become more careful. Punishment fails to change the lives of those whose only concern is getting caught.
Our job as disciples of Jesus Christ is to provide restorative justice changing hearts and minds as we share God’s love with a wounded world.
Prayer: Lord, as you restore us to wholeness help us restore others to wholeness in your name. Amen.