Highways to Zion

How blessed is the man...in whose heart are the highways to Zion!

Psalm 84:5

Some years ago I heard about a social engineering experiment. Sociologists observed that children playing in a fenced school yard spread out over the entire area, right up to the fence, and postulated that fences around school yards were inhibiting the children's freedom. So they removed the fence. The children's subsequent behavior was a shocking surprise - they all played much closer together near the center of the area and did not go anywhere near the perimeter of the school yard. Apparently, instead of inhibiting freedom, the fence had allowed them to feel safe to play freely anywhere in the yard. Removing the fence made them feel vulnerable.

This story was used to illustrate the purpose of God's law. The Law was not meant to be restrictive but to protect. Following God's laws keeps us safe from harm in the same way a school yard fence keeps the children safe. We are free to go anywhere and do anything inside those parameters.

But the Law is a two-edged sword. Because we are sinful creatures, we use the Law in sinful ways. One of the most common is to use it to judge others. If we stay inside the fence, it is all too easy to judge those who are outside it. Indeed, Law plus sin-nature fosters just such a mentality. If I do x, y, and z, then I am better than those who don't. Those outside the fence are inferior to those inside. In Ephesians 3:14, Paul went so far as to say it was the Law that created the enmity between Jews (those inside the fence) and Gentiles (the outsiders).

No wonder the sinners, tax-collectors, and prostitutes were coming in droves to Christ while the scribes and Pharisees stood aloof. The latter felt safe and superior inside their fence, while the former were acutely aware of their failure and vulnerability. The latter may have been safe, but their feeling of safety allowed them to be in denial about their sinfulness in ignoring "the weightier provisions of the Law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness," as Jesus said when condemning them in Matt. 23:22-24.

The good news (and though it seems negative, it really is good) is that Jesus abolished that enmity through His death on the cross (v.15-16). He took down the fence. He took it down to eliminate the barrier of judgment between the insiders and the outsiders. He took it down so that we all could know how far short we fall and how vulnerable we are. He took it down so that all people could come before God on equal footing, namely by faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

The Law is still effective as a fence. Following God's laws does provide a measure of safety. But it will never make us acceptable to God, no matter how carefully we follow every detail. The Pharisees were just as vulnerable inside their fence as any sinner was outside, because the problem is not with the fence but with the people. How grateful I am that Jesus has taken care of the real problem - the sin that separates both insiders and outsiders from God.

© J.H.Nichols 2010

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