Who Cares About the Law?

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

-Matt 5:17-20

------

Who cares about the law?

The law seems like something archaic, and in some ways it is. There is a principle behind it, however, that transcends a conversation about religious interpretation and permeates our entire lives. For the Pharisees, the laws were what validated them. If you are keeping the law then all is well, if you are not, then all is not well. This is, of course, an over-simplification but bear with me.

The Pharisees could look to the law to determine their personal value.  What is it in your life that you look to in order to reassure your heart that all is well? Is it your relationships? Is it your bank account? Is it the respect that you get at your job or perhaps your talent in some hobby?

Whatever it is, we all have one.

Here's the thing, when you look to something in this way (to determine your "okayness") it will ultimately ruin you. 

Here's why....

Let's use work as an example. If I look to my work, the quality of it and the results from it in order to gain my satisfaction, I will end up in one of two places and be completely stressed on the journey between those outcomes.

If I perform well and the results are good (the project is finished, the boss recognizes me, etc), I'm on top of the world! But here's the thing, because I have performed well I don't have much mercy for those who don't perform well. I begin to look down on people who don't work hard. "What's wrong with them? I did it, they can to! They just need to quit being lazy and get things done!"

Succeeding will turn my heart hard and unforgiving towards others and make me into a bit of a jerk. Also it will squeeze out room for other things in my heart, so that when I am feeling any negative feelings the only place that I can run to in order to feel better is work. This means that I will neglect my relationships and other responsibilities, because they don't provide the validation that work does.

Let's evaluate the other end of the spectrum with work as the analogy. If I make work my everything and then I fail, I am totally crushed. Rejection, depression, and loss will result. I then will have to do one of two things.  I will have to work relentlessly and gladly sacrifice anything until I can restore my reputation again at work.  Or, I will flee from anything that reminds me of work.I might begin to shutdown in the areas of life where I feel evaluated like I did when I tried my hardest at work but failed. I might begin to develop a fear of rejection. This will spill over into my relationships with my family and loved ones. I might have to self-medicate with video games, alcohol, drugs, etc in order to feel good.

So what does this have to do with what Jesus is talking about? Jesus steps on to the scene and tells the people something that would have been very surprising. At this time the Pharisees had a reputation as being the most righteous people, the people that were most serious about really trying to live out what the Bible says. Jesus says to everyone, "You have no chance of getting into heaven unless you are way better than the Pharisees, they aren't good enough."

This would be like Jesus looking to the fella that works 80 hours a week and saying, "To get in, you need to work more hours than that guy."

Here's the thing: we all have very real, good desires that we do our best to meet with things that we feel we can control. Work feels like I can control it, so I feed my desire to be validated with it. However, living this way is like trying to quench your thirst by drinking only milk shakes and soda. You can hold the thirst at bay for a little while, but filling your body with only these beverages and never what it really thirsts for (water) will end up destroying your body.

Our desires to be validated and know that we're okay can only truly be met in Jesus. Jesus comes and says, "The bar is much higher to get into heaven than you think, you don't really have a chance. However, I am going to jump over the bar.  I am going to exceed the standard and I will credit you with my effort. That's how you can get in."

This is why people call Christianity a crutch. Everywhere else in life you're told to work hard and earn your keep. Christianity says, "The bar's too high! You won't ever be able to make it...BUT...you can use Jesus' resume to get it!"

People feel like they're taking a handout if they do this. This is why right before this teaching in the book of Matthew Jesus starts His beatitudes (which means blessings) with...

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.

The only thing you need to start a relationship with Jesus and to ultimately have access to love, joy, peace, and the hope of heaven...is empty hands.

If you come to Jesus and try to use your own resume in whatever it is that your heart hides itself in...the standard is too high...you won't make it. It's only when we come to Jesus knowing that we don't measure up and asking for His help that we can begin our journey towards being the people He's created us to be.

Do you want to be set free from your treadmill of performance-based "okayness"? Come to Jesus and be set free.

Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

-Matt 11:28-30