Reading: Romans 7:7 -13
Reflective Thoughts
Wrong Turn
When Tom and I lived in East Africa, we occasionally travelled across country to the city of Mwanza in western Tanzania. During the rainy season, the main roads became impassable, so we would take “the back way.” Local dirt roads, without signs meant travelling from memory. It was easy to drive off course, happily unaware that we were heading in the wrong direction. We were able to discern our location only by matching the name of a village to one that corresponded on the map. That’s when we became very unhappily aware that we had missed the way. I was always amazed at how the map changed our mood. I knew he should have confirmed directions at our last stop! He knew I was going to remind him of that one more time! Neither of us, however, would have dreamed of throwing the map away.
Paul explained that without the Law, we are unaware that we are Law breakers. But awareness of it actually becomes a ground-zero in our hearts for breaking the Law. It stirs up our old nature and reveals it. It’s not however the Law, God’s standards, that are a bad thing. Rather, they reveal our need for grace and humility. Don’t throw the map away! Just turn around.