The Lawless Planet

It’s been called the meanest town in the west. Canyon Diablo was a lawless and violent railroad community in Arizona that sprang up in 1880, when workers laying tracks for a railroad came to the edge of a canyon. Materials for a bridge were the wrong length and shipment delays led to the growth of a community of about two thousand people. Most were railroad workers, but it soon collected outlaws, gamblers, and prostitutes.

At first Canyon Diablo had no lawmen, so gun duels, shootouts, and robberies were common. Main Street was called “Hell Street”—and with fourteen saloons, ten gambling houses, four brothels, and two dance halls, it lived up to its name. Boot Hill cemetery on the edge of town quickly filled with 35 residents, all who were killed in violence. When the railroad bridge was finally completed, the town quickly disappeared.

Earth could be called the meanest planet in the universe. This one rebellious world has turned away from God’s moral law. When sin entered—“sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4)—people disobeyed the law and brought moral ruin and death.

Satan has not only blamed God for the lawlessness in our world, but he also tempted Christ to break God’s law. In the three wilderness temptations, Jesus refused to disobey the commandments of heaven and used Scripture as a powerful weapon. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

In the great duel between good and evil, Satan claims that God’s law cannot be kept and that it restricts freedom. But Christ perfectly obeyed God’s law (John 15:10) and died on the cross to save law-breakers. His violent death built a bridge from heaven to earth (Genesis 28:12; John 1:51) so that if we accept His atonement for our sins, we can walk away from this mean and broken world.

Apply It:

For which laws in your local community are you most grateful?

Dig Deeper:

Matthew 24:12; Romans 6:19; 2 Thessalonians 2: 7–10