Sunshine and Shadow

Wherever one sees the sunshine he is bound to see shadows. Unless one is staring directly at the sun, which is all but impossible to do, he cannot see the sunshine without shadows. It might be his shadow, or the shadow of something else, but wherever the light shines the shadows appear. In Romans 7 Paul talks about the Law. He says, "What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good."

The Law is like sunshine; it is something wonderful, beautiful, and perfect. Yet this same thing reveals sin. Like the shadow, sin only becomes apparent when the Law shines upon it. No one sees a shadow when it is dark. They see the shadow when the light reveals it.
Does this make the Law wrong? Does this mean that we avoid the law because it reveals our sin? No, it does not, and for this reason: Without sin, there would be no need for Christ. Without knowledge of sin, man does not see his need of Christ. The Law is key in that it reveals to man his sin and thereby drives him to Christ. We need the Law, for without the Law we would be ignorant of our sinfulness.

The Law is a picture of Christ. Think about it: Christ is the Author of the Law. He kept it perfectly during His time on earth. The Law serves to show His perfect holiness in comparison to our stark depravity. This may seem distasteful to some, because such a Law makes us look bad. But that's the whole point! If we could look half so good as Christ perhaps we would have a chance of saving ourselves. It is because we are so horrible that we are in need of His grace.