The Law vs. Redemption

I just watched my new favorite movie: Les Miserables. I cried and laughed; was shocked and amazed; was torn apart and put back together; and ultimately learned something about human nature I had never fully understood.

There are people out there (and I've recently had to deal with several of these people) who automatically think they are better than everyone else, whether they know the people they are judging or not, because the people being judged do not live up to a certain standard. They believe so strongly in a law of right behavior that they show no mercy, have no true feelings, and ultimately can't even live up to their own standards (if you've watched the movie you know what I am talking about; if you haven't you will when you finish it). These are the Javerts of the world, and oh they irritate me.

Then there are the people like Jean Valjean who have done something wrong, paid for it by all standards of governmental justice, but are still condemned for past wrongs by the Javerts of the world. They realize that they have done something wrong and the work as hard as they can to atone for it but their past still haunts them because the Javerts of the world continue to remind them of it. The Valjeans of the world are not given a proper chance to demonstrate their reformed attitudes because every action is suspect. The Valjeans of the world are the former prostitutes, convicts, rebels, murderers, tax collectors, sinners who come to realize the errors of their way, seek restitution and redemption, and wish for freedom to overcome their past and truly shine as the new person they have become.

The Javerts of the world continue to pass judgement upon the Valjeans of the world to prove that they are truly superior. These are the hypocrites of Jesus' day who live on into today. They claim to live by a certain standard that they see to be completely accurate but when it comes down to the truth, their standard is far off. It has none of the character of God Himself within it--it has no room for God's mercy, grace, redemption, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control, etc.

It is easier to live by a set of self-made rules at times but it makes you into the very person most people try to avoid being.