My God, in my busy, cluttered world, I long to see Your face and be touched by Your healing grace.

“For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.”
- Romans 7:5-6 -

The Law, contained in the ‘old way of the written code’ (v 6) – i.e. written in the Hebrew Scriptures – is here viewed negatively, reflecting Paul’s own experience. For him, to die to the Law was a form of joyful release from a bondage (v 6). Other Jewish believers would say (then and now) that the Law should not be seen so negatively but should be celebrated. For them, the Law is not burdensome but a delight and a joy providing a framework for the good life: ‘The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul’. Paul has more to say on this, but here he points to the power of written laws to bring us into condemnation, exposing our moral inability to overcome our sinful passions, making things worse (v 5).

God’s saving work in Christ marks a new beginning, a new reality, and a new way.

Closing Prayer: Father God, help me turn my eyes away from my performance and rather, turn them towards Jesus. As I look upon Him, I know the Spirit will transform me.

(From Encounter with God)