Mathew 5 21-22 "You have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shall not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment; But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment:"

I really enjoyed the summer Olympics. One of my favorite events to watch is Pole Vaulting. Can you imagine running full speed down a runway, jamming a flexible pole into a hole in the ground, holding on for dear life, propelling yourself into the air over a 16 or 17 foot bar, and landing on a cushion. What?!! In Rio, after many successful vaults, it came down to Sandi Morris of the U.S. and Ekaterini Stefanidi of Greece in the Women's Pole Vault. Stefanidi won the gold because Morris' leg simply brushed the bar 16'3".

In Mathew 5:21-22, Jesus does something very interesting. He quotes the law from Exodus 20:13 in saying, "Thou shall not kill". Then, just in case people dismiss this commandment because they wouldn’t even think of killing someone, He actually raises the bar, to show their need for a Savior.

He said, "That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment ". What?!! If you're angry with someone, you have broken the law? Yes, that's what He said. This was just another way of proving that keeping the law is impossible. He knew that eventually everyone is going to miss it, brush the bar, and it's going to topple over.

What is the answer? Grace. Grace pole vaults you OVER the bar, and gives you what you need to overcome in every area of life. Even if you have less misses than someone else, according to the law, if you miss it once, you are guilty of the whole law. Not with grace. God knew we would miss it, that's why He provided a Savior that would take upon Himself all our sin, past, present and future. He took what we deserve, and freely gave us what we don't deserve…grace. And grace sends us soaring! Enjoy!