Paul now starts talking about law, and it seems that Paul is talking about the Law of Moses here. He is very much taking a "spirit of the law" approach, whereas the Pharisees seemed to take an "every little detail" approach or nit-picking approach. The whole tenor of the Law, Paul says, is to love one another. This is consistent with Jesus' words on the Law being summed up by love God and love your neighbour. Note that when we talk about love we are not talking about some mushy sentimentality. True love shows itself in actions. On a legalistic level a law can be said to be fulfilled, but we have an unending debt of love. There is always more loving to be done.
Paul then puts all this in the context of the return of Christ. We are in the last days. As has been well said, whether or not Christ returns in our lifetime, these are definitely our last days. Our time on earth is finite. If this life was all there is there might be a certain logic to just living for yourself. But this is not all there is. Christ will return, there will be a final judgement, and then everything will change beyond all recognition. We are to live our lives in preparation for the new kingdom. This most definitely does not mean living as hermits, or as recluses, abandoning the world. Rather it means we live as Christ in the world. We avoid wrong behaviour in all its forms, and instead clothe ourselves with Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment