There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:1–4
Now that our children are older, my husband and I look back on some of their episodes of outright disobedience with a different perspective. We can see that even as they responded to our discipline with absolute hostility, these incidents became turning points in their lives.
With reckless abandon their flesh cried out with insolence, “Don’t tell me what to do!” Fifteen or twenty years earlier we wanted to say the same things to our parents.
The “Law” Paul speaks of here is God’s law, given to Moses and the Israelites in the entirety of what has been recorded in the Bible. It’s the law that requires that we “love our enemies and do good to those who hate us.” And it’s also the law that says, “ ‘Come to me, all who are heavy laden and I will give you rest.’ ” To be out of control is such a weighty burden, one that we were never meant to carry.
God’s rules provide for us a huge safety net. When we bounce against its sides, we become aware of the need to change our direction.
I rejoice that I am a child of God and heir to the kingdom! Hallelujah!
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Today’s reading was adapted from Daily Wisdom for Women: 2013 Devotional Collection with permission from Barbour Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reading was written by Carol Lynn Fitzpatrick.