Law vs. Grace … Pain vs. Healing

 

I’ll admit my mind is a jumble of thoughts as I type this. Between my Sunday morning study book by Rebecca McLaughlin (the second one of her's I’ve done), the message series at MRPC from Romans (Andy Lewis is doing an incredible job of unpacking it), and some personal challenges I’m working through, I have a lot to process. And that’s not a bad thing as it forces me to consider what is truly important and worthy of my attention.

Romans can be a confusing letter. Often, the ones attempting to lead others through it seem poorly equipped to do so. It can come off as harsh more often than not, as if Paul has a score to settle. At least that’s how I view it. So, I welcomed this series because I knew I’d get a fresh look at the letter and all it has to offer. Today was no exception as we delved into Romans 3. It built on last week, naturally, where we were told we can belong before we believe. The illustration given was that of circumcision. Apt portrayal of the idea to be sure, and it resonated (especially since it was communion Sunday).

Today’s teaching centered on verses I had memorized long ago. But the points made was that the absence of righteousness is often bound up in additional weight we willingly take on. The original Law was there to illustrate an “impossible standard” we couldn’t achieve. Instead of seeing that for what it is, we ended up piling on more rules that made things look even more difficult … or impossible. In doing so, we missed the point. The Law always points to Grace. The example used today was one of gifting you a luxury yacht. We’d have to sell it immediately to pay the taxes because we know we can’t afford it in any way (to own or operate). Yet Father God has gifted us the ultimate luxury we cannot afford through our Divine Brother. Then he goes further and pays the taxes, upkeep, and guarantees all future costs are covered. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Grace explained that way. We bring nothing, and that’s the way it needs to be.

Turning attention to the McLaughlin book (“Confronting Jesus”), the chapter today spoke to me more than usual. The author was candidly talking about a cancer scare intermingled with times Jesus performed healing and interacted with people. The focus of the chapter was that healing now isn’t promised. Pain now actually is. But we usually don’t like to hear that. In some attempt to make sense of the pain, perhaps we’ll pile on more rules and laws to explain things. But in doing so, we miss the point. This isn’t the end game … it never was. There is True Healing in the end. And there is a massive amount of Grace to get us through until we can experience that first hand.

I can tend to let my thoughts and imagination run wild if I don’t choose to focus on the right things. Grace and Healing are always the goal. Both are promised and available, but not usually on our terms. Paul knew that and, if you unpack Romans the right way, that’s what comes through. It’s worth considering in the midst of my struggle. I am accepted and belong while I grow my belief and understanding.

The Carmax God

For a great number of us, we ultimately want a relationship with God that looks more like a deal at Carmax than what, in reality, is far messier and unknown. If that doesn’t set easily with you, I’ll ask that you stick with me. If you “get where I’m going” I’ll ask the same thing … 

 I owe this post to Andy Lewis, the Senior Teaching Pastor at Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church (Greenville, SC). I “attend” there Sunday mornings as a regular practice and am blessed to sit under his teaching (as well as others who share that ministry). This came up a few weeks ago as part of his message where Abraham negotiated with God about the coming destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Most of you will be familiar with that passage, so I won’t go into the details. That story itself isn’t my point anyway, but it did get me to thinking.

There are multiple stories in our Bible where an individual interacts directly with God and intercedes (maybe even begs) for a different outcome than has been laid out. Abraham did it in this instance. Moses did it when God said he’d wipe out all the Israelites. David’s Psalms are full of this kind of dialog. Job (associated with my current Sunday morning book) went through it. Our Divine Older Brother himself searched for “a way out” at his darkest moment. None of them were ready to just sign the “Carmax deal” that offered one set of outcomes … take it or leave it … no negotiating, no questions. And no need to deal with any of that pesky “mystery” either.

That’s what struck me as Andy took us through this passage. Abraham didn’t presume God wouldn’t “change his mind” and proceeded to ask for that. He went to bat (primarily for his nephew Lot) and sought a different outcome than the deal on the table would indicate. He knew God wasn’t the “Carmax God” and acted accordingly. He was willing to embrace the mystery and mess of actually interacting with the Father. And he did it with full expectation that God would listen and may actually change.

And please don’t hear what I’m not saying … you won’t find me in the “just pray harder” camp nor will I bow to the “it’s all in God’s hands/will” crowd. Both of those are non-biblical interpretations that either put too much on us or make us more like robots. Again, look at what Jesus did in the Garden where he clearly asked for something different but accepted that ultimately God would work the best “good” out of it all. If you go back to the beginning of this blog and understand why my late brother Mike called it “the Crooked Path”, you’ll probably get my perspective a bit better.

One more thought from Andy this morning that really prompted me to write this down. The message came from 1 Peter (part of a brief series) and the point that really struck me was that Jesus already took on the full weight of Death so that we would only have to pass through the shadow of death. That just reinforced what I read in Keller’s book today. It doesn’t absolve us from engaging God, but it does give us a calm assurance that the winning is already done, even while still shrouded in mystery.