The Law Came in with Gail Force
Sunday June 17, 2012
Augusta, GA
By Al Gray
Romans
Chapter 5 perhaps sums up Christian faith more succinctly than any chapter
in the Bible. It begins with
tribulations, perseverance, proven character and hope. It finishes with
transgressions, condemnation, justification, reconciliation and concludes in
grace. In the middle one finds the Law
in a curious light.
Whoa! Many Bible scholars predictably avoid this improbable
and seemingly out-of-place role of the Law, in such a negative light. Only
those with passion for the Law, a keen intellect, curiosity, and fearless
determination to seek truth in the Lord, like the legendary Rev. C.H. Spurgeon, address
this passage. It is too daunting for most.
It wasn’t for Gail Duffie Stebbins. She found nothing
daunting. Gail, a longtime friend, mentor, collaborator, and confidant, lived
Romans 5 and exemplified why the notion that “the Law came in so that the transgression would increase” isn’t
negative at all. It is the lifeblood of our society, key to our Constitutional
rights, and, as Romans 5 shows, it demonstrates to all how we fall short.
Let’s return to the beginning of Romans 5.
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom
also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in
which we stand; and [we exult in hope of the glory of
God. 3 And not only this, but we also exult
in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;4 and perseverance, proven
character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does
not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our
hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Nothing better sums up the life of Gail Duffie Stebbins for
this old friend. She suffered tribulations throughout life, as all of us must,
but the one that strikingly stands out from this perspective is that Gail was a
capable, forceful woman who thrust herself into the melee of the ‘boys club’ of
the Augusta bar and Augusta Judicial circuit. As the Augusta
Chronicle reported (Her father,
Hubert) “Duffie raised his daughters to
ignore gender boundaries and pursue any career path they wanted, saying “the
sky is the limit.” She didn’t back down, taking a particularly aggressive
stance against governmental predations of her beloved parent’s property rights.
Her sword was Equal Protection under the 5th Amendment to the United
States Constitution and her shield was the Due Process Clauses of the 5th
and 14th amendments. Harmful overlay zoning ordinances with the
Evans Town Center and Fury’s Ferry Corridor districts attempted to make short
shrift of Hubert and Eleanor, her parents. She would have none of that. The
dominant men would yield. Indeed, when a Superior Court judge threw out the
Evans Town Center ordinance in a suit that Gail brought, the judge exclaimed to
the county’s attorneys, “She’s got you boys!” Of course, in good-old-boy fashion the judge
delayed entering his decision in the case long enough for the “boys” on the
county’s staff to remedy the deficiencies she prevailed upon, and then reenact
the law.
After tribulations comes persistence. She was so accustomed
to being abused by the boys that Gail knew the judge was going to give the
government every break in the Town Center case. She persisted in a backup plan
to prove nobody else had ever lived up to the rules. We went around taking
digital photos, doing Georgia Open Records Act Requests, and Gail even
went to the extent of measuring distances and counting parking places to prove
we were right! Our persistence meant that after her court case and our
presentations, the county was never again able to use that ordinance against a
determined property owner. In demanding equal protection for Hubert, Eleanor
and herself, she benefitted the rest of us.
The next stage is proven character. Gail insisted in
following the second commandment of Christ – “Do unto others as you would have
them do unto you” – which is at the root of law and just common decency in how
we treat others. She got a lot of that from her father, whom she adored. After
Hubert’s death three weeks ago, she was cited and quoted in the Augusta
Chronicle “His daughter, Gail Stebbins, hopes people
will remember her father as a man with ‘extreme integrity’ who cared deeply
about those in need and wanted to leave the world a better place”….“He never asked for recognition,” she said. “Daddy was one of those who
liked to quietly work behind the scenes.” Gail was nothing like that. The Law came in with Gail
force and she was scarcely shy in defense of her family and community. She had
proven character and toughness.
The last time we spoke was on the eve of our Augusta Today
activist group’s intervention to defeat the Laney Walker Bethlehem Overlay
District before the Augusta Richmond County Commission, in which Gail’s
guerilla style defense of property rights would reign supreme. She counseled
for us to avoid providing so much information about the city’s mistakes that
their lawyers would correct the crucial ones and in fact advised against doing
anything. It went something like “let
them find out too late.“ I laughingly took half of her advice and we left enough
untouched, unreported, and undiscovered issues to prove fatal should the need
arise, even though we went forward in our (successful) opposition. Gail was
like that. She was a fantastic sounding board.
One might think this friend would have trouble with the idea
that she gathered hope. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Gail knew the
score about a whole host of matters – law, politics, government, public policy,
finance, world economy, and human nature. While we had not seen each other in
several years, she was a steady counsel, fount of ideas, and source of practical
thought. I treasured her wisdom, advice and perspective. She recognized the
seriousness and precariousness of our world situation, but she had tremendous
HOPE for her children’s futures.
Gail’s husband, Clay, represented our family when we had
similar need to combat wrong with considerable ability and aplomb. He was a
life partner in Gail’s battles and we offer him and their daughters our heartfelt
condolences over Gail’s passing late last week.
Gail Stebbin’s life lent meaning to the words of Romans 5,
Verse 20, that says “The Law came in so that transgression might increase.” The great Reverend
Spurgeon explains that for us this way. Sin always existed, but until the Law
was introduced, there was no way to measure or prove the universality of sin.
Law, as Gail practiced it, was a great equalizer. It showed that all men (and)
women have fallen short, even the wealthy, the powerful, and the privileged. The
end of the verse explains this way: “grace
abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin
reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Exposing inequality was Gail’s
way of exposing sin and overcoming it with God’s help.
Gail knew one thing supremely. She had hope “and hope does not disappoint, because
the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy
Spirit who was given to us…. 10 For if while we were enemies we were
reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been
reconciled, we shall be saved [f] by His life. 11 And
not only this, [g]but we also exult in God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”
Gail adored her father. In her last interview she said this –
“He
is my hero.”
Now through hope and conquered transgression, she is reunited
with him in reconciliation with God.
She was one of my heroines and she was a fellow patriot.
Godspeed Gail, you will be missed for a while, but we will
see you one morning soon.
Your old friend,
Al
