Devotion #6: To Our Core
Have you ever read the Ten Commandments and felt a strange mix of awe and dread? I remember the first time I really pondered them. As a kid, they seemed like a pretty straightforward list of do’s and don’ts, things that “good people” follow. As a teen (who was very much a rule follower), they were a list of things that I was doing great at and most other people were doing terrible at (or so I thought at the time). However, as I grew up and took my distorted and prideful eyes off of myself, I came to realize that God’s Law is not just a checklist for behavior. It is a mirror that reflects the depths of my heart in ways I might not always want to see.
Paul speaks to the purpose of the Law in Romans 7:7-12. “What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” Here, we are reminded that God’s Law is not flawed; it is perfect, holy, righteous, and good. The Law reflects and reveals God’s nature in the same way, showing His holiness, righteousness, love of justice, and desire for purity. The Law is the standard, and God, in His perfection, sets and meets that standard by every account. We, on the other hand, do not. Not only do we not meet the standard, we miss the mark by miles! God’s Law exposes the problems within us, brings our brokenness to light, and points out the fact that we are, actually, wretched sinners. The Law shines a light so brightly on our own lives that it does not just expose the external, visible sins but goes deep down to our core, revealing thoughts and attitudes that we may not even recognize as sins until they are pointed out. It goes to the very heart of the matter.
In this passage, Paul explains that before he truly understood God’s commandments, he did not see his sinful nature clearly. He uses the example of coveting, saying that at one time, he thought of coveting as just a harmless, passing thought - no big deal. However, once he understood what coveting really meant, that it is a desire for something that is not rightly his and that it springs from discontent and envy, he could no longer ignore God’s command, “You shall not covet.” The Law opened his eyes and revealed that sin was alive within him in ways he was not even aware of. This resonates with me deeply as I think back to the way I used to view God’s commandments. They are not just a list of rules that “good people” follow, and they certainly are not a list of rules I am fantastically accomplishing. When looked at with the correct lens, the purpose of God’s Law is not to show me how good I am. Instead, it reveals what a failure I am. I can never measure up to God’s perfect standard, no matter how hard I try. Yet, the Law is not the enemy; sin is. Ironically, this weighty and burden-filled place is the best place we can find ourselves because it is here where we are forced to acknowledge our deep need and utter dependence on God. Left to myself, I am prone to anger, pride, envy, and more, but when I come under the weight of God’s Law, I see the true purpose behind it - to point me to Jesus. The Law drives me to the foot of the cross, where forgiveness, freedom, and transformation are found. The burden has been lifted! Through Christ, I no longer approach God’s Law with selfish pride, dread, or condemnation. Instead, I see it as God’s goodness, grace, and the greatest gift I could ever receive. While the Law may reveal my sin, it also points me to the only One who can save me from it - Jesus Christ.