Above the Law
Imagine a day filled with the fruits of the Spirit. What would that be like?
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. - Galatians 5:22-23
Paul's letter to the Galatians warns us to avoid those things that laws are written about, the desires of the flesh that corrupt and mislead us.
Instead, he says, go with the Spirit and live by its fruits, and in a way that puts us above the law.
Who wouldn't want that?
But being above the law in this sense, does not mean I get away with breaking the law or avoiding the penalties of the law. It means I naturally do what the law is designed to keep me focused on.
When I am at a stop sign for example and have patience waiting for you to go before I go, I am acting in a way that is within the law, not avoiding it.
In Paul's view, these behaviors are not restrictive but liberating, since they guide us to a life that is free of fear of the law. We don't need to know what is right and wrong, since we do what is right by nature.
It is when we look at these things as limiting that we fall victim to our ego and get ourselves into trouble.
Of course some people feel they have a right to push ahead in line, to cut off the competition, to take more than their share, to please themselves, and for them, the laws are written.
Ironically, though, they are most likely to break them.
I guess the message can be frustrating to all who obey the law. Those who obey, don't need the law and those who don't won't bother to follow it anyway.
So, the question I have is this. What is the value of the law if some fail to obey it?
From the beginning, even the simplest of God's laws was broken by man. So, perhaps we should stop focusing on what the law says and start listening to what God is telling us through the Spirit.
Be fruitful. Do what puts you above the law and you will live free.
More to come...