Madison J. Caplinger

Politically, I tend to be pretty opinionated. However, I tend not to share my leanings except with someone that I already trust. I don’t find it worth alienating people in most cases.

With so many issues facing our country, the hyper-polarized dialogue of how to fix it rages on. Those are conversations that need to be had. But can the law sustain the weight we have put on it?

It’s interesting to note that Jesus stayed markedly unpolitical during His earthly ministry, despite the expectations of those around Him. For many Jews, He did not fit their idea of a Messiah because He didn’t free Israel from Roman rule. He promised a greater freedom: freedom from our sin, and in fact freedom from the law.

Don’t get me wrong; the law of God is good and not to be disregarded. But for centuries, the Jews depended on it to keep them in right standing with God. They avoided certain foods and observed rituals to the letter to be considered clean. They sacrificed unblemished animals to atone for their sins.

Yet if we read the Old Testament, we see that Israel never quite got the picture. Their hearts stayed far from God and they repeatedly flirted with other religions. The rules were a mirror to show them their flaws, not soap to clean them or a bridge back to God. Ultimately, the law was not enough.

It took Jesus’s radical act of love to clean the filth of sin and build the bridge back to God. Now, we can trust Jesus’s sacrifice to be clean. Jesus was the unblemished sacrifice to atone for our sin. Jesus’s lone political statement was that the law is not enough. Thankfully, He is enough.

Millennia beyond the Israelite theocracy of the Old Testament, discussions need to be had about what the law should say. While reform to the law may lessen the effects of the wickedness of fallen humanity, it will never be a cure. Jesus demonstrated that He is the only true cure.

May we never put our trust in the law, our own good works, or anything else. It cannot sustain the weight of our trust. In contrast, Jesus begs for it. Give it freely, and you will be glad.