Law of Love

There are so many New Testament books in the Bible where Paul begins by summarizing to his readers the riches we possess in Christ. Ephesians is a classic example. The entire first chapter is full exclamations describing what we as believers have "In Christ." If we really grasp the wonder of the things that Christ has done for us, the surely  we will respond with a sense of gratitude, making every effort to live a life worthy of this kind of love. We would want to please him as a lover pleases the beloved, not out of compulsion but out of desire.

We strive for holiness not to make God love us but because he does. Paul told Titus, it is the Grace of God that "teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and Godly lives." Trying to please God by following laws and regulations misses the point. Don't you realize, Paul said, frustrated that people squabbled over small things like eating meat and circumcision.

Yancey wrote somewhere, "I think that the idea of Grace is something that presses us to higher motives of morality." It's a child that wants to know what he can get away with. An adult understands that boundaries (rules and regulations) exist for his own good; a parent voluntarily sacrifices his and her own freedom for the sake of others, which goes beyond just obeying the rules; it's a higher calling and is the "law of love."