What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet." (NIV)

"Don't touch anything!" I bellowed, watching in horror as my toddler's poop-smeared hands hovered dangerously close to...well, everything.

In my urgency to keep the accident from inflicting more damage on our day than it already had, I had forgotten the #1 rule of communicating with toddlers: Say what you want, not what you don't want. This is how their little brains work, still developing those verbal processing skills: Whatever you say, that's where their mind goes, even if you've inserted that helpful little word "not" into the sentence. Sure enough, as soon as I commanded my kiddo NOT to touch anything, it's as though all his brain heard was touch! - and he's slowly reaching for everything in sight! The very commandment that I had hoped would keep him from causing more chaos had inadvertently given him the very idea I wanted to avoid.  

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Today's passage in Romans 7 leads me to believe that us grown-ups aren't so different from our little ones in this area. Paul says in today's passage, "What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, 'You shall not covet.' But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death" (Rom. 7:7-10). So, to Paul's point, why didn't God just tell us what he wanted us TO do instead of giving us all these "thou shall nots"? Was he just setting us up for failure?  

While this trick of positive phrasing might help me communicate better with my toddler, there's also a point where we as humans need clarity on the consequences of breaking boundaries. Think of it this way: To a point, I can tell my kiddo to "Stay on the grass," instead of "Don't run into the street." But unless I acknowledge the reason behind the rule, the danger of running into the street, he may eventually wonder at why he should stay on the grass and decide to figure out for himself if there's any risk there. Similarly, God tells us the why behind his law: "...I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him" (Deut. 30:19-20). The law, although it does perhaps make us aware of what we shouldn't do, also makes it clear to us the danger of our sin. Through the law, God has set before us the way of life and the way of death - do you want blessings or do you want curses? Our God, who is 100% truth all the time, doesn't hide the whole picture from us, but notice how he does follows it up with the positive instruction - Now, my children, choose life!

We're all just toddlers before our Father God, aren't we?

What are you choosing today - life or death? Through the law, they've both been set before us, with the command to choose God's way of living in this world. And yet, still entangled in sin's deceptive influence, we just can't choose life on our own, right? We try, but even the best-behaved toddlers fall short of perfect obedience - like, all the time. BUT..."God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). Where we couldn't, he said I know and provided a way.  

Turns out, in that moment when I yelled at my kiddo not to touch anything, he ended up getting so freaked out that he just started sobbing. He was overwhelmed, and he just didn't know what to do to get out of this mess. He needed mom's help. Are you in that spot today, too? Are you finally aware of what's all over your hands - this deadly stain of sin? Are you so overwhelmed by the weight of it that you don't even know how to pretend to help yourself anymore? Come to Jesus. Call out to him. He is right there, and he's always ready to rescue his kids, no matter the mess.  

Jesus, we need you! We can't deal with this mess on our own, but we know that you already did. Help us live in your victory today, confident we are dead to sin and alive to Christ! We love you, Amen.