I have often wondered, what is sin? Sin,
on examination, is not merely a
specific act that breaks a rule; but in
disobedience to the Divine law.
An infringement of the law of the land
is crime, not necessarily a sin;
but the distinction is a fine one, and
often set in identification.
The reasoning is simple, earthly power
reflects the Divine will; in every case
of this, the law of the land is not lower,
but as absolute utterance in place.
In the theocracy of old Israel,
the detail of Yahweh’s law permeated
the people’s daily life; at its own peril
infringement, the nation in war defeated.
Yet, Christ himself broke the law of the Sabbath,
and secularised God’s law to the law
of the heart, where sin was refined to thought;
Charity fulfilling the role of law.
