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In preparation for preaching this Sunday as well as facilitating a Sunday School Class on One Way Love , I was listening to several songs from Les Miserables.  I had to find back tears for several of them because of the power of the songs and the truth of the message of grace and law.  I decided to share a video of one which illustrates where a focus on the Law can lead.  If you have not watched the movie or read the book, it might help you better understand this clip.

One of the illustrations that Tchividjian uses in his book, One Way Love comes from the novel, Les Miserables .  Below is a quote from that part of the book. If the Law is the first word, Grace is the last. Listen closely: The Law exposes Valjean (and us), while Grace exonerates him. The Law diagnoses, but Grace delivers. The Law accuses, Grace acquits. The Law condemns the best of us, while Grace saves the worst of us. The Law says "cursed", Grace says "blessed." The Law says "slave, Grace says "son." The Law says "guilty", Grace says "forgiven." The Law can break a hard heart, but only Grace can heal one.

The following is a post by Tullian Tchvidjian on Les Miserables. He does a great job putting into words the themes from the movie of law & grace. Last night we went to see Les Miserables. As has already been discussed here and written about here, the contrast between law and grace is both pronounced and profound. For me, the most powerful scene in the movie is Inspector Javert's song right before he kills himself. Javert embodies our natural addiction to law and our natural aversion to grace. Committed to the rigorous inflexibility of the law, Javert has been given grace time and time again from the very one he has mercilessly hunted for decades, Jean Valjean. The grace of Valjean haunts and radically disorients Javert. Javert sings: Who is this man? What sort of devil is he, to have me caught in a trap and choose to let me go free? It was his hour at last to put the seal on my fate, wipe out the past and wash me clean off the slate! All it would take was a flick of hi...