Got Fruit ?

A friend asked: "How to balance it all…" a few days ago on Facebook to which I responded…

"The answer… not too far to the left and not too far to the right. Sorta right there in the center of the midway point. Generally speaking of course. "

I was being somewhat silly with my "answer", however the question has lingered with me over the past few days; though not in a terribly nagging sort of way.  I did however ponder for some time how Jesus for example managed to see the big picture in all things, able to address the more pressing issue at hand when confronted by hypocritical religious leaders; giving them the verbal smack down, while graciously nurturing the "sinner". John 8:2-11  I started to recall where I was in Christ say 3 to 5 years ago, to where I think He’s bought me to now, any good in me of course is to the glory and credit of God Almighty.

Some particular "extremes" that I recall having to let Christ walk me through were that of having to shake off the tainting of New Age philosophy, legalist perspective, and a tendency to focus mostly on God’s love for us and not enough on His other qualities such as His: righteousness, holiness, justice,wisdom and patience to name a few.

The world view I held for almost half of my life was a result of unknowingly falling for New Age philosophy.  This view was a byproduct of my teenage years, formed after reading Richard Bach’s: "Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah".  I had essentially taken hook line and stinker, Bach’s expressed view that one ought not feel guilty if another feels rejected, hurt or otherwise offended because of our actions or decisions to not feel obligated meet another’s needs.  To illustrate, Bach presents a part of the story where a metaphorical vampire makes a request to feed on someone.  The vampire is as best as I can recall a seemingly pleasant person afflicted with being a vampire and thus requiring human blood in order to continue living.  He pleads with someone to meet his need, and the reluctant party responds to the effect of: "Tough luck pal, you’re not sucking my blood, and if you feel "hurt"that’s just too bad.  You choose to feel hurt, and it has nothing to do with me.".  Taking on this world view inoculated me from the concerns of others,I was responsible for me and avoided situations that put me in danger of having to yield for the sake of others.  Now don’t get it twisted, I’m still not letting anyone suck my blood, but I might point you to the nearest Red Cross, blood donation center, hospital or public mental health facility. 

Looking back, I think the legalist perspective was partially a result of attempting by my own "wisdom" to live by the law.

1st Corinthians 8:9
9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.

There was also an overcompensation to make up for a lack of genuine spiritual worship of the Lord with my heart,soul, and mind.  I was fortunately blessed to understand that I had become more enamored with the intellectual side of things (loving the Book, instead of the Author), which is not to say that gaining Bible knowledge hasn’t been a blessing, nor that it shouldn’t be considered a vital component of our walk with Christ.

Romans 12:1
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

As for an unbalanced focus on God’s love, I thank God that He made it possible for me to receive words of wisdom from the mature Christians that He surrounded me with as well as Him providing timely words from a variety of other sources; namely His Written Word, but also His Word shared by several Christian bloggers and web sites of Godly men and women.  I never saw myself as going to the extreme of the present day "love fest" within Christianity; though some might be tempted to read into this earlier post.  Rather I simply saw myself as not being immersed in the completeness of what God has revealed to us about Himself, hence one possible reason for feeling the need to read and study the Old Testament with dedication to giving  an equal amount of attention as held for the New Testament.  Though I do admit that the Gospels and Paul’s 13 Letters do tend to be easier to read, study and just give me a buzz! 

Having gotten completely sidetracked with my expanded take on maintaining a sense of balance in our lives, especially when compared to what Jesus did, I’d like to close with an urging to readers to check out what John McArthur has to say about Liberty in Christ.  I particularly draw your attention to what McArthur has to say about "The Dangers of Legalism and Libertinism".

Grace and peace be with you