It's human nature to try and control our own destiny. At some level, we all believe we can save ourselves. At the very least, we can influence the outcome. Even those of us that have experienced a life changing salvation through Jesus Christ. Even though we know we're saved, we still want a checklist to follow. We want to be able to look at our own lives and convince God and everyone around us that we're worthy. Worthy to be saved, worthy to be loved. Daily quiet time, Bible reading plans, church attendance, even giving things to the poor and feeding the hungry are all often self-salvation projects. We do them because it makes us feel saved.
That's one of the reasons we have a love/hate relationship with the Law. The law gives us a guideline. If we can just figure out this law stuff and then work hard enough to follow it, we can be accepted on our own merits. We don't have to trust God to save us, it's up to us. We like control. At some level it makes a lot more sense to rely on our own efforts than it does to build a relationship with a guy that we can't really relate to (I mean, how many universes have you created lately?) and that we can't call on the phone, text, email, or meet for coffee at Starbucks. How do you build a relationship with someone whose voice you're not sure if you can ever really hear? Being a good person on your own effort makes a lot more sense.
The message of the gospel just isn't logical. It doesn't make sense. What makes more sense are the self help guides...full of checklists, dos and don't that lead you step by step into a more perfect life if you just follow them closely enough and perfectly enough. That's what we understand. That's what the law is like.
The gospel, on the other hand, says that the work is done. That's the good news. The work has already been done for us. We can throw away our checklists, understanding the crushing weight of the law that we've been living under. Now we're free from that, right? Now, what is our response to that freedom? I think our next move should be into John 15.
