Who Made Up All the Rules, We Follow Them Like Fools*

*(First line of "They" by JEM)

Jenny was late! She was late! For a very important date!

This would be the perfect job, she thought. Only 15 minutes from home. Except now she has to make up the minutes lost searching for the keys. But how?

The complete answer never came, because the rolling stop through the intersection got her introduced immediately to a member of the motorcycle police force.

Fuming while waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting to get the bloody ticket, she reflected that this didn't seem fair.

She had, after all, stopped at that same sign hundreds of times in the past. Why doesn't she get some credit or something for all the times she obeyed the law? But, NOOOOOO! One violation, and BOOM, she's nabbed.

And then it hit her. The law is not her friend. It's never sitting there on the books to tell her how wonderful she is. Nope.

It's just sitting there waiting patiently for her to mess up. Just biding its time until she screws up just that one tiny bit.

And then Jenny reflected on the stuff she'd been hearing at church lately.

Hmmm... I wonder if that's what the pastor meant when he said we can never be good enough to make God happy by just following all the rules. Maybe God's rules are like this stupid stop sign. Only good for one thing--to accuse us when we violate them.

Because, oh yeah, she had violated a few of those God rules, too.

"Well, if the rules aren't the way to make God happy with me," she thought, "then what is?"

We hope Jenny is with us Sunday, when we explore that question. You might want to give a listen, too.

If you're inclined, read through Exodus 20.

Or hear the answer at 11:00 a.m. this Sunday at 1988 Kirby Road, McLean, VA.