Galatians 4:21. Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?
Paul is agonizing over these beloved saints with their desire to return to law, because it is a rejection of the life of Christ in them. They are not living Galatians 2:20—“I live by faith in the One who loved me and gave His life for me.” And so Paul asks them the question, “Are you even listening to the law?” Or, “Do you even understand what you’re asking for?”
So what does “listening to the law” look like for us today? What are the ways we try to live by a system of standards, principles, or rules that we use to gain control of our lives? Let me share two of them: Living by cause and effect and creating our own identity. Here in part one, let’s talk about living by cause and effect.
This “elementary principle” says that I will get out of life what I put into it. If I do “A,” then I will get “B.” This is how the Law of Moses functioned. If the Israelites obeyed God, They would be blessed. If they disobeyed God, they would be cursed. Modern Christians want to live this same way. We want to use the cause–effect principle to control the outcomes of our lives. If I do all the right things, my life will go as I plan. If I remain pure, God will give me a spouse. If I read my Bible every day, I will automatically grow spiritually. If we follow biblical marriage principles, we will have a blessed and happy marriage. If I work hard, my business will succeed. If I give money, God will bless me with more wealth.
We live by law every time we try to use the cause-effect principle to control our lives. But the problem is that eventually life in a fallen world crushes this system. Just ask Job. Or Paul. Or Ruth. Or Jesus. Bad things happen even when we’ve done everything right. And the opposite is also true. “Why do the wicked prosper?” the Psalmist asked. In this broken world, it seems as though cause-effect fails to reward the righteous and punish the wicked.
But the real problem with living from cause-effect, besides that it doesn’t actually work, is that this system is void of any real trust in God. It is not living by faith in your union with Christ. It is not trusting Christ’s life for joy, peace, comfort, or power. It’s trusting your personal system of control. It’s trusting your own efforts and your ability to manage your life (and everyone else’s). And this is law.
You: Where can you see yourself living from this cause-effect principle?
You in Christ: Why is union with Christ a much better truth to live by than trusting in cause-effect?
Christ in you: How would trusting your union with Christ look different from trusting in a simple cause-effect system, especially when things get hard?
Pray: Father, I want to learn to simply trust You based on my status in Your family, not based on the things happening to me or around me. Amen.
