Matthew 5:17-20

Matthew 5:17-20
English Standard Version (ESV)

  In Christ, we see the perfection of the Law -- he is the only one who can live with his entire life, both actions and his heart, centered around the glorification of Christ.  Everyone before him struggled to do this -- even if someone had been able to keep the Law perfectly in their actions, sin has such a fierce grip on our hearts that our thoughts and desires wander far from where God intends them to be.  In Christ, we see someone who is tempted as we are, yet is without sin -- by this we mean that even the inner most thoughts of his heart are based in selfless love and glorifying God. 
  So we have a choice to make.  The first option is to try and fulfill the Law perfectly.  If we can manage to do so, we'd be the first person who wasn't God to manage this feat.  I don't like my chances to do so.
  The second option is the one for me.  In this, I confess my sin and proclaim Christ as King, both of my heart and the world.  In bowing my knee before his throne, I receive the righteousness that is due to him.  He shares it with me out of generosity, and my destiny is no longer determined by sin, but rather by Christ's righteousness.  I am saved from the fate that was due to me, and I receive grace and eternal life, thanks to his selfless love.  He has fulfilled the Law on my behalf and given me the rewards that I would have received if I had fulfilled the Law. 
  We all have the same choice.  Will you bow before the Savior?  And, if so, how then will you live?  Will you attempt to then proclaim this truth in your life, using your words and actions to not only imitate Christ but also to invite others to do the same?