The Letter Of The Law

“But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.” (Romans 7:6). We talk about the Letter of the law and the Spirit of the law. Generally, we condemn those who would adhere to the letter of the law as an excuse or a justification to pass by on the other side and withhold their compassionate service and love. And we often praise those who may circumvent the letter of the law in order to uphold the spirit of the law and offer a helping hand to those who are caught between the law and a hard place. The truth is that letters, by themselves, are dead and have no spirit. It is only when letters are combined into words that they have meaning, otherwise they are mere squiggles on a page. But when letters are arranged into words, they take on a life of their own, they have spirit, they make us think and feel things. If you were to look at a page, you might see only squiggles. But if you were to read a page, you might see dragons or covered wagons or spaceships or tropical paradises. If we attempt to obey the letter of the law only, then we will find ourselves captive to a set of rigid and inflexible codes that often fail to be of use or actively harm us or those we love. The laws in this way have no life in them; they do not connect us to the blessings to which they ought to be attached. Any law, from the very first law given to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to the most recent change in Church policy from this very year, consists of a certain arrangement of letters designed to guide and instruct and nurture a specific group of individuals facing a specific challenge. Now, the beauty of God’s laws is that the same arrangement of letters that was delivered to Adam and Eve can be delivered to us today, but it will convey a different meaning to us than it did to them. We must serve and obey in the newness of Spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. We must allow personal revelation to enliven and imbue the dead laws with new spirit and new meaning for our exact moment. God speaks to each of His children in their own tongue and according to their own understanding. He promises that we may always obey the Spirit of the Law as we seek always to have His Spirit to be with us. I know that God’s laws mean much more than a random collection of letters. There is Spirit and power and grace in God’s laws.