Murphy's Law

Series: Love



I had the delightful opportunity this morning to dissect a computer, in hopes of changing some broken parts and replacing them with shiny, new, or at the very least, working parts. But it can be tricky business because things have to be just right. Components must be compatible, Mac or PC, the right size, shape, and so on. And as I finished my work, screwing everything back the way I had found it, everything compatible, clean, and perfect, I powered up the machine to the pleasant surprise of a completely blank screen. After working and reworking my laborious venture to no avail, it occurred to me that except for the laws of gravity I think that there are no other laws that interact with our lives and bodies as influentially and frequently as Murphy’s Law. Regardless of your role or socioeconomic place on this planet, Murphy’s Law has shaped and conditioned how you live every day of your life, respond to every relationship, and dictates in one way or another many if not every decision you make. It is in the innermost chambers of this law that caution, hesitation, and second guesses are born. Murphy’s Law simply states that, “If anything can go wrong, it will.” If it can break, it will. If it can get lost, stuck, or broken, it will. It is the perfectly awful marriage of inevitability and skepticism. You don’t have to live long for Murphy’s Law to affect how you plan, tread, dream, trust, and love. It’s what makes us ask, “Are you sure?” “Really?” and “Why?” It is why we give up, give in, and let go of precious and dear friendships. Because if it happened once, it’ll happen again. If it hurt once, it will hurt again. If it fell apart once… inevitable and skeptical. If it can go wrong, it will. How then, as people of the Cross, do we love others if we are conditioned to be anxious of investing in something that is, seemingly, bound to fail?

See, I believe in Murphy’s Law. I wouldn’t call it a law, per se, perhaps Murphy’s Principle. Because not everything is bound to fail. Sometimes things do go just perfectly, just right, just as planned. See, at just the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. And when everything had gone wrong, over and over, while we were still sinners, God sent His son and in this demonstrates His love for humanity (Romans 5:6-8). As an expression of his love, God sent his son, for the sinners, broken, dirty, and Mr. Murphy's everywhere, and this is the purest form of love that he could show." In spite of a creation that repetitively ruins itself, God loves us. His demonstration of love is presented as even more perfect in the presence of such a mess. Our brokenness makes His beauty all the more beautiful.

I’ll be honest, one of the hardest things to do is love someone who has wronged you, especially if it is a recurring offence. But a love untested, unchallenged, and unopposed is a love undemonstrated. Second only to loving God is our responsibility to love the people around us. It is easy to love those who do not test our love, but it is righteous to love those who push love’s boundaries. Because things are bound to go wrong, get snagged, unravel, and get chipped, but what separates the unrefined love of man and the love of God is that God’s love overcomes Murphy’s Law and man’s unrefined love reinforces it. May we embody the unrelenting and sacrificial love of God to those who test, push, and exhaust our love. And in the presence of exhausted love, may we be refilled by the generous love of God.

Father, we thank you for your love. Make us a people who freely offer a genuine representation of your love and not our cheap imitations. Help us embrace your love and the grace that is engrained in it. May we be filled with hope in others and not cynicism. Grace and not judgment. You are our God and we are your people. Thank you. Amen.


Chris Palmer
Stephenville, Texas