One morning I was in a hurry to get to work and was completely oblivious to the police car that I sped past.  It wasn’t but seconds later that I saw the blue lights flashing behind me to pull over.  I can still feel that sinking feeling that you get when you have been caught for doing something wrong.  In this case, I had broken the law!  I went above and beyond the speed limit!  But, here is the thing…if I had not been pulled over, I probably would have never noticed that I was speeding.  I had a mission – that mission was to get to where I needed to go on time.  However, because I was pulled over, the “law” revealed to me my mistake and wrong doing.

In Galatians 3:15-29, the people of Galatians are told that the ‘law’ was no longer valid for them.  Yes, they are to obey God and God’s commandments, but just like I made the mistake of speeding, they are going to mistakes following the Ten Commandments.  In no way, or even if we try with all our might, we are going to make mistakes – we will break the Law!  Just as our civil and state laws reveal to us when we are breaking the law (such as speeding and breaking the speed limit), God’s Law will reveal to us when we sin.

We only have one hope – And, that is Jesus Christ.  St. Paul puts it so beautifully: “If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God in obeying it.  But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom (from sin) only by believing in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 3:22).

Only Jesus Christ can forgive our sins and give us the opportunity for life beyond this life.

Let us pray, Gracious God, thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ who died for us so that we can have freedom from sin and be clothed with Christ.  Let us acknowledge the law as a means of revealing to us our mistakes, but come to you for forgiveness and the strength to turn away from our wrongdoing.  In your name we pray, Amen.