May 11: The Tutor of the Law

Scripture: "So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith." — Galatians 3:24

In a perfect world (Plan A), there is no need for a written list of "Thou Shalt Not's." Love is the natural reflex of the heart. You don't need a law telling you to breathe, and Adam didn't need a law to tell him to honor God. But sin changed our reflexes. We became spiritually "auto-immune," attacking the very things that give us life. The Ten Commandments, then, are a "Plan B" accommodation—a set of "guardrails" designed to keep the car on the road.

Adventist theologians often point out that the Law is a "transcript of God’s character." While the principles of the Law are eternal, the format of the Law (written on stone) is an accommodation to our amnesia. When we couldn't remember the rhythm of the Sabbath or the sanctity of life, God wrote it down in "Plain Hebrew." He took the high, abstract principle of Love and translated it into concrete, manageable rules.

Ellen White explains in Patriarchs and Prophets that if humanity had kept the law as it was written in the heart, there would have been no need for the thunders of Sinai. The "added" nature of the law wasn't because God changed His mind, but because man had lost his way. The law serves as a mirror—a "Plan B" tool to make us realize we are "dirty" so that we will seek the "Plan A" Cleanser, Jesus Christ.

Think of the law as a set of training wheels. No cyclist intends to keep training wheels on forever; the goal is balance and freedom. But while you are learning, those metal bars are the difference between a smooth ride and a broken bone. God’s requirements are not weights to hold you down; they are the "Radical Accommodations" that protect you from your own fallen impulses until you reach the finish line.

Today, don't look at the Law as a ladder to climb to get to God. Look at it as a "Guardian" that God sent to protect you while you are in the wilderness. It is the "Plan B" that ensures you don't wander off the cliff before you reach the "Plan A" home where the law will once again be written naturally upon your heart.

Reflection Questions:

Do I view God’s commandments as "restrictions" or as "protective accommodations" for my current weakness?

Which "guardrail" of God’s law am I currently trying to push against, and why?

How can I move from "keeping the rules" to "loving the Ruler" today?

Sources: Patriarchs and Prophets by E.G. White; BRI "The Nature and Function of the Law."