Law and Gospel

Tuesday June 26th, Galatians 3: 23-24 Until the time when we were mature enough to respond freely in faith to the living God, we were carefully surrounded and protected by the Mosaic law. The law was like those Greek tutors, with which you are familiar, who escort children to school and protect them from danger or distraction, making sure the children will really get to the place they set out for. When our children are young, we need to deal with them with lots of love and limits, which is another way of saying the law. Don’t touch the stove, Don’t play in the street, Don’t hit, and sometimes there is a time out or some toys taken away. As they grow in years, they learn to make their own good decisions (hopefully). Part of the process of learning to make good decisions is making some bad decisions. Until we as individuals, we as cultures, and humanity in general, reaches the state of maturity where we can freely respond in faith to the living God, there are always some of those laws to keep us in line. It is an ongoing process. One sure way to know you have not reached maturity is to think you have reached maturity. In the mean time, we live in the tension between Law and Gospel.