Matthew 5:17-20 "The Laws of Life", an introduction for Just 10

Reading – Matthew 5:17-20

I'm going to tell you two short stories from my past by way of introduction. Then, I'll tell you why I told them.

Many years ago I was sent on a training course. I was staying is a nice hotel , backing on to a river – probably the Thames – but I don't remember. I met someone there who I hadn't seen since school. He was on the fringe of the group of people I'd done my best to avoid at school, but he greeted me as an old friend. We had a couple of drinks together and at the end he threw his beer glass as far down the river as he could, making some comment like 'beat that'. I said that I couldn't be asked, it was all too much effort, and dumped the glass over the edge of the pontoon we were sitting on. He went one way and I the other. I'd hardly left the pub when a little old lady approached me – caught up with me might be more accurate. She gave me a good telling off for my behaviour, and let me know that she knew I knew it was wrong.

That's the first, now for the second.

I was going to pick up Jo from her job at Marks and Spencer. It was the end of a typically busy Saturday, but by the time I arrived most of the shoppers were long gone. There was a bus stop on the other side of the road where I needed to be, so I nipped across and parked there. I started to look around for Jo. There was a tap on the window from the other side. Turing round I saw a policeman. I wound down the window and received a stern talking to about my driving and parking.

Both those stories are from about 30 years ago, but even then I was used to the pattern. When I decide to do something that I know is wrong, however trivial it may seem to you, there is ALWAYS someone there to tell me that I shouldn't have done it.
I used to think it was a curse before I was a Christian, but now I believe its a blessing. Either way I've learnt that its how my life works. As I grew up I learnt a series of rules that define how my life works. There are probably still many to learn.
The good news is that the rules of life are written down. The Jews call it “The Law”. I'll call it the “Law of Life” just to be clear what we are talking about.
A couple of weeks ago we went to the British Touring Car Championship races at Silverstone. There we found small groups of men doing their very best to understand the laws of Physics. They understand lots about friction – they call it grip when it applies to tyres on the tarmac. They know about aerodynamics, they call it down force, it helps with the grip, but if they have too much down force the car will go slower. If they don't have enough the car won't go round corners. They are working within the Laws of Physics – well most of them. Only one member of each team tries to break the laws of Physics. They have a name for him. They call him the driver.
The Laws of Physics are constant, they do not change with time. The Laws of Life are the same – they do not change over time, that is why Jesus says “not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law”. The I's have been dotted and the T's crossed, there are no more changes needed – the document is perfect.
The Laws of Physics can't be broken. When you try that in a racing car, its the car that gets broken. We saw some spectacular skids, a few collisions and one quite serious crash. The Laws of Life work in a similar way. They cannot be broken. If you try to break the Laws of Life its you that gets broken. Just like the driver in the racing car tries to go too fast, or turn too quickly, we try to do things with our lives that they were never meant to do. That's what Jesus means about fulfilling the Law – he came to show us how to live without trying to break the Law of Life and getting hurt as a result.
In 1687 Isaac Newton published “Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica” which set down some of the very basic Laws of Physics. We've been discovering more laws and more about how they work ever since. The Laws of Life have been around the same amount of time as the Laws of Physics, but we've had much longer to understand them.
I think we've done a worse job understanding the Laws of Life. So starting on September 15 for 10 weeks we've got an opportunity to look at them in a lot more detail.
If you haven't signed up already, it's still not too late. Speak to Warner, or the Office and book your place.
It's an opportunity to learn how to live in harmony with the Laws of Life, or the Laws of Love as J.John calls them, instead of trying to break them all the time.