Mr. Holland’s Opus

Read: Luke 12:16-21

One of my favorite movies is Mr. Holland’s Opus, starring Richard Dreyfuss. It tells the story of a talented young musician who dreams of creating a masterpiece, his magnum opus, his legacy of genius for history.

Unfortunately, his family needs food and a place to live while the masterwork is in progress, so Mr. Holland takes a job as a public school band director. He is good at the job, but often frustrated as he finds that its demands, and the needs of the young people in his classes, take so much time and energy that he has little left over for composing.

The movie follows Mr. Holland throughout the ups and downs of his adult life, until, at the end [spoiler alert], his dreams of composing fame never realized, he comes to understand that these people were his real opus. The students and family into whom he poured himself over the years were the lasting treasure, the mark of a successful life.

The story rings true for lawyers and, I’m sorry to say, law professors. Many of us dream of making partner, winning the record-breaking verdict, arguing the landmark case in the Supreme Court, being elected to high political office, or appointed as an appellate judge. We tend to assume that our legacy, our mark on history, is found in our achievements within the legal profession.

There’s nothing wrong with those things, but in terms of priority, Luke 12 tells a different story. Not only money, but all the achievements of this world are temporary. They will soon be forgotten by everyone. There is only one thing of permanent, eternal value into which we can invest ourselves: relationships, with God and with other people. Long after our office achievements have been forgotten, the people whom we impacted will be impacting others, who will impact others, and so on.

So the next time you are tempted to think that the “important work” of your day is being interrupted by the annoying client who calls for no real reason, or the secretary who requires way too much hand-holding, or the spouse whose needs are never met, or the children who just can’t understand that you’re too busy, or the waitress at your favorite diner who won’t shut up – take a moment to realize that those people are your important work for the day. God is much more interested in how you impact their lives than He is in one more rewrite of the brief or contract.

~ Prof. Brad Jacob, Regent University School of Law

The Bible and the Constitution

Read: 2 Timothy 3:14-16

As a Christian who is also a professor of constitutional law, I am struck by the parallels between the way Christians struggle over the authority of Scripture, and the way American lawyers, scholars, and judges struggle over the meaning of the United States Constitution.

In each case, you have a written text that, in theory, we accept as authoritative and definitive. Christians accept the Bible as God’s written word, totally true and trustworthy because it came from the mind of God Himself, who used human authors to put pen to paper (parchment, or whatever they used). 2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

The Constitution is authoritative NOT because it is God-breathed and infallible, but because it is the supreme law of the land. It is supposed to bind the hands of all branches of government, setting a firm parameter around legislative, executive and judicial power that can only be altered by its authors, “We the People of the United States.”

In each case, however, we see large numbers of people who want to ignore the written text and substitute their own judgment of the good. In constitutional law, this is called the “living Constitution” approach. If we can’t find our desired political outcome in the actual text of the document, we just say that the words must morph to comply with some vague, self-determined set of “constitutional principles.”

The same happens in churches that ignore God’s clear written word, replacing it with the “wisdom” of their leaders. (Cf. 1 Corinthians 1:18-25.) For example, the Bible’s teaching on sexual morality is clear, but those whose who want to promote extra-marital sex or homosexuality ignore the text and say that they are following “biblical principles” like love and non-judgment.

Words require interpretation and application. Understanding the full meaning of a written text, whether it is the Bible, the Constitution, or something else, can be difficult and divisive. But we need to commit ourselves to that difficult task. If we claim to be followers of that text, we can’t just ignore the words and fall back on vague platitudes.

~ Prof. Brad Jacob, Regent University School of Law

The Snake on the Pole

Read: John 3:14-18, Numbers 21:4-9

Not far from the famous Scripture, “For God so loved the world . . .” in John 3:16, we come upon another passage that is more cryptic: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15) What is this “lifted up snake” thing all about?

We find the answer back in Numbers chapter 21. The Israelites were wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt and, as was often the case, they were mumbling and grumbling against God, complaining about how miserable their life was. They were sinful and disobedient (just as we often are). And God brought a well-deserved punishment on them: poisonous snakes that slithered through the camp biting the people. The snakebites were fatal.

The people begged Moses to intercede with God on their behalf, and he did so. God, in His endless mercy, provided salvation from the punishment for sin: a bronze snake was crafted and lifted up on a pole. The bronze snake cured the poisonous snakebites. There was just one catch: salvation was not automatic just because the snake was lifted up. Each individual had to choose to turn his head and look at the snake in order to be saved. Anyone who refused to do so would die.

The interesting thing is that Jesus himself said that his crucifixion would be just like Moses lifting the snake on the pole. Just like the snake, God provided Jesus on the cross to take away the penalty for our sins. And just like the snake on the pole, this salvation is not automatic because of Jesus’ completed work. We have to “look at the snake.” We have to turn our eyes upon Jesus and accept by faith His free gift of salvation.

Scripture doesn’t tell us whether any of the Jews refused to look at the snake, and died instead. Maybe some of them said, “I just don’t believe in bronze snakes,” or “the snake may be right for you, but it’s not my truth.” Today, however, we live in the world in which millions of people choose not to look at Jesus on the cross and put their faith in Him.

Maybe there are one or two who need to hear your testimony today.

~ Prof. Brad Jacob, Regent University School of Law

Are We Christians, or Herodians?

Read: Matthew 2

Jesus was born in the sleepy little town of Bethlehem, located almost in the shadow of the Herodium, the magnificent fortress/palace constructed by King Herod the Great. The contrast between Herod’s luxurious palace and the humble stable of Jesus couldn’t be any more dramatic.

When Herod heard that a new “king of the Jews” was to be born, he was terrified of losing his power and wealth (if not his life). He was willing to take any measures to eliminate this contender to his throne:

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Matthew 2:16

It didn’t work, because God took Joseph, Mary and Jesus to safety in Egypt. And the slaughter of all those little Jewish boys was so senseless, so unnecessary. Herod didn’t realize that this Jesus would grow up to say, “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s” and “My Kingdom is not of this world.” Jesus came not to claim political or military power, or to promote insurrection against the governing authorities, but to bring people to God and reign in their hearts. Herod could never have understood this; to him, the only kind of rule that mattered was physical rule with all its trappings.

Do you live like a follower of Christ, or of Herod? Sometimes we who claim the name of Jesus seem so focused on implementing our legal and public policy goals that it’s not clear which kingdom we are serving. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t work for god-honoring laws and support political candidates with good values – but since the Kingdom of Heaven is within us, our first priority must always be to share the Good News of the Gospel with a world full of people who desperately need to hear it. Everything else is secondary.

At this Christmas season, may we keep our focus on the filthy stable, not the magnificent palace, and proclaim the internal, life-changing Kingdom of Jesus above all else.

~ Prof. Brad Jacob, Regent University School of Law

Gold from God (Haggai 2:1-9)

Do you know Christians who always seem to be gloomy and depressed? Worse yet, are you such a Christian?

Life can be pretty discouraging sometimes – especially for lawyers. We find ourselves under constant pressure and enormous demands. Our clients are never satisfied; our partners always want more; our subordinates seem to always let us down. You may feel that you could take care of your own responsibilities okay, but the people around you are not handling theirs. Practicing lawyers joke about how great life would be without clients messing everything up; law professors use the same line about life without students.

Things can be tough at home, too. Your spouse and kids have needs that you can never seem to meet. You love them a lot, but they don’t really appreciate all that you do for them. You struggle to raise a family that loves God and is called to His service, but you don’t really know. Sometimes you worry that all the kids are turning into burglars, drug dealers, and prostitutes. It’s not usually that bad, but sometimes they really do end up living in ways that sadden your heart.

Perhaps worst of all, your service for the Kingdom of Christ can seem like a real waste of time, too. You can understand it when you fail because you have been disobedient – because you neglect your relationship with God, get your priorities messed up, and don’t take advantage of the ministry opportunities that He presents.

But sometimes, by God’s grace, we get it right. Sometimes we hear our Lord’s call, and even though it is not convenient and the timing is awful, we turn from our path to His. We join the Bible study group. We teach a Sunday School class. We witness to someone on an airplane. Instead of turning away from the drunken panhandle (or throwing him more booze money!), we take the time to buy him a meal and both show him and tell him about God’s love. Even when we get it right, however, sometimes the results seem pitiful.

On some occasions, it just seems that even our most sincere, best-intentioned efforts to serve and please God accomplish nothing. Our attempt to share the Gospel brings a response of ridicule. No one shows up for the well-organized Bible study. We try to minister to people with needs, but they reject the help.

The people of Jerusalem in Haggai’s day could relate to our frustration. After Haggai preached God’s word to them, they repented. They turned from their misplaced priorities and devoted their top energy to rebuilding the temple. They were obedient, and God was pleased. “I am with you,” declared the Lord.

Yet, as the people worked on the temple, they became depressed. They remembered the splendor of Solomon’s temple – the silver and gold, the tapestries, and acacia wood – and when they looked at the simple wooden structure that was the product of their faithful obedience it seemed worthless. It seemed so futile that some of them cried. God’s words of encouragement can minister to us as well:

“Be strong . . . and work, for I am with you . . . . The silver is mine and the gold is mine . . . . The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house.”

God was true to His word. The “present house” was later visited by God’s own Son, who brought glory far exceeding anything that ever appeared in Solomon’s temple. Similarly, God will work through sincere efforts in His service, bringing glorious results in His own time and His own way.

Never be discouraged if you can’t see the fruit of your ministry. Just obey with a faithful heart, and trust God to provide the “silver and the gold.”


~ Prof. Brad Jacob, Regent University School of Law

Building God's House (Haggai 1:1-15)

Zerubbabel and Joshua and the rest of the people of Jerusalem were able to avert God’s anger and receive His blessing because they redirected their energies and refocused their priorities. They did not give up rebuilding their homes and the rest of the city, but they gave top priority to completing the work on the temple, which was God’s top priority. This is one of the most encouraging passages of Scripture. Praise God if it can be said about us: “The people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God . . . . And the people feared the Lord.”

And how did God respond to this change of heart and mind? “‘I am with you,’ declares the Lord.” What greater encouragement and affirmation could we ever desire?

All of this is well and good, but it does not give us much guidance on making Christ-honoring changes in our own lives. Assuming that we want to stop working on our own metaphorical houses and focus on the Lord’s house – that we want to give our first attention to His top priorities and not our own – how do we know what God’s top priorities are?

Priority Number One is the same today as it was in Haggai’s day. We are to build God’s temple. Today, of course, the temple of God is not a building or structure; it is the bodies and lives of Christians. I Corinthians 3:16-17 says, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.”

The first step in building a temple pleasing to God is to have a personal relationship with Him. Christians come in many styles and flavors: we may be Presbyterian or Baptist, Methodist or Lutheran, Catholic or Orthodox, Pentecostal or fundamentalist, Calvinist or Free-Will. Some of us worship by singing hymns; others sing contemporary Christian music and choruses. Some churches baptize infants; others baptize only believers. There are legitimate areas for Christians to differ on these issues, and room for diversity within the Kingdom on non-essential doctrines and preferences.

But one point is clear: no one ever attained salvation by merely belonging to a church, or being baptized, or singing in the choir, or serving on a committee, or doing good to the poor. All of these things are good, but God demands more. He demands a personal, heart-felt acceptance of Jesus’ substitutionary death on the Cross, and a recognition that only faith in Him, and not any merit on our part, can make us acceptable to God. If we have not reached that level of personal faith, then we have not even begun to “build God’s temple.”

What about those who have accepted Christ as Savior, but are not really giving that relationship much time or effort? That may describe many Christian lawyers. Our salvation is secure, but we are so consumed with our lawyering and the tremendous demands on our time that God more and more fills the role of a comforting after-thought. We focus on Him Sunday mornings in church, but during the rest of the week He slips from our consciousness. We don’t deny Him, but we ignore Him.

In doing so, we have duplicated the mistake of Haggai’s day. We have neglected the repair and improvement of God’s temple in order to do things that are good, but not God’s best. “Good enough” is always the enemy of the best. Like the people of Jerusalem, we must hear God’s call and make our daily focus on Him and His word to be our top priority. We must obey the voice of the Lord, so that God can say, “I am with you.”

~ Prof. Brad Jacob, Regent University School of Law

Priorities (Haggai 1:1-11)

Priority setting and time management may be the most important issues in every lawyer’s life. Our money is often limited; but our time is not only limited but stretched beyond its breaking points. Our professional lives are enormously demanding – depending on one’s practice, 60, 70, or 80-hour work weeks may be commonplace. Some lawyers bill 2,500 or more hours per year, and when you add in nonbillable work responsibilities, that leaves only two possibilities:

(i) you are lying on your timesheets, or
(ii) you have no time left for normal human existence.

In addition to our professional lives, most lawyers have enormous responsibilities in the areas of church and community service. Our legal training gives us skills in analysis, planning, speaking, and leadership that are in high demand by most volunteer groups. There are probably few Christian lawyers who are not asked at some point in their lives to serve as an elder, deacon, or committee chair in their local church. We are constantly being called to serve on boards and task forces, to teach Sunday School classes, and to plan special events. Civic and community groups, ministries, and other nonprofit organizations also want to make full use of our skills.

Family relationships, although they can be among the most rewarding aspects of life, also create huge demands on our time and energy. A marriage, even the best marriage, requires lots of serious effort, planning, and communication. Children who are to be raised with a passionate love for God and a solid set of beliefs and values must have the time and attention of both Mom and Dad in abundant supply.

When you add all of this up, it is pretty overwhelming. Sometimes we feel that we must climb out of bed early in the morning and run through the day at frantic pace, extinguishing the most urgent fires until we collapse into bed again at night. What is often lost – not by deliberate choice, but just for lack of time – is any serious focus on our relationship with Christ.

The people of Jerusalem in the day of Haggai faced a somewhat similar situation. Their lives were overwhelming. They were returning from exile to a city and nation that had been completely destroyed. They had to rebuild, from the ground up, their homes, work places, public buildings, houses of worship, stores, walls – everything! If your professional responsibilities seem overwhelming try to imagine doing your work with your office, computer, and files all destroyed. Then, in your mind, level your home as well, and you may have some sense of what the exiles faced when they returned to Jerusalem.

From everything we can determine (primarily the Old Testament books of Ezra and Haggai), these were dedicated, hard working people. They were not plagued by the comfortable, lazy sins that can afflict cultures where life has become too easy and leisure too prevalent – sins like sloth, gluttony, and lust. It seems, instead, that they were working very hard to rebuild their homes and community. They had the “Protestant work ethic” down to a science.

And yet God was displeased. All of their hard work could not earn His pleasure, because the things they were working on were not His top priority. God wanted His temple to be rebuilt before the people finished their own homes. “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”

What about us? Are we living in paneled houses while God’s house, His priorities for our life, remains a ruin? If so, the excuse that we were “working hard” will hardly work.

Who Is My Neighbor? (Luke 10:25-37)

Did you know that the first human question recorded in Scripture and the last human question recorded in Scripture are, in essence, the same question?


The first time that the Bible records a human question is in Genesis 4:9 where Cain, having killed his brother Abel in jealous anger after Abel presented to the Lord a more pleasing sacrifice than Cain’s, is asked by God, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” Cain replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

The Bible also records, in Matthew 25:44, the very last question that men and women will ever ask in this life. When Christ comes in His glory to sit on His throne, He will banish the unredeemed to their eternal punishment, for not having ministered to His hunger, thirst and other needs. They will answer, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?” His reply, well known to all of us: “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

These two questions, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” and “Lord, when did we see you . . . and did not help you?” are really, in the bottom line, the same question. In fact, they are really the same question as the one – asked by a lawyer, no less – that prompted Jesus’ most famous parable, that of the Good Samaritan. “Who is my neighbor?” asked the lawyer. The response was the now-famous story of the man beaten by robbers and left to die, ignored by two religious and leaders, but saved by a despised member of an ethnic minority group.

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” Jesus asked. The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Three questions; one focus: Are we responsible for the well-being of the people around us? God’s unequivocal answer: “YES!”

In each of these cases sinful man attempts to rewrite the question to meet his own objectives. What lawyer-like efforts! He who defines the question controls the answer, right? Cain tried to suggest that he was not responsible for Abel’s problems; the expert in the law tried to define the “neighbor” that he was commanded to love in order to narrow his responsibility; those damned at the final judgment will try to claim that their unkindness to others should not count because it wasn’t directed at Christ personally.

Valiant efforts, but to no avail. God’s answers are clear. Am I my brother’s keeper? Yes. Who is my neighbor? You be a neighbor to everyone. Lord, when did we do wrong to you? When you did wrong to anyone.

Many Christian students enter law school with high idealism and a passion to serve others. They may envision themselves reconciling disputes between believers, or providing legal aid services for the inner city poor, or defending the religious freedom of some oppressed group. Somewhere along the line, that idealism is often lost. By the time Christians graduate from law school, their career paths may not look too different from those of their unsaved counterparts.

How about you? God gave you your legal skills and training for a reason. Is your career advancing the Kingdom? Is any part of your most precious resource – your time – given to His service? You may not be able to quit your job and volunteer at a legal aid clinic, but you can look for ways to use your abilities to minister to your neighbors.

~ Prof. Brad Jacob, Regent University School of Law, with thanks to Sam Ericsson, President, Advocates International