The Wall

Most of us, when we first accept Christ, build our faith as if we are building a wall. Like a stone mason we carefully select our rock or core beliefs as new followers of Christ. We lay them down and start to build on top of each other. For example, a new follower of Christ might say well I believe in Christ crucifixion and resurrection; I believe it is bad to drink alcohol; I believe that it is grace alone that saves me from my sin. All of these examples can be backed up by biblical text but some can be also argued with biblical text.

So what becomes of our wall when you change your mind? What if you believed that tattoos where unholy because of Leviticus 19:28 but later decide that you misinterpreted that text? What happens when you find out that some words in the bible where misinterpreted and because of that your idea on that subject is changed (Red Sea or Sea of Reeds)? What happens to your wall when your core stones are pulled from underneath it? It falls, you fall and your faith falls.

How do we overcome the wall? We need to recognize that the bible is a living text. "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Heb 4:12) The word of God can mean many, many things in different situations and to different people. It changes and evolves to help in today's world.

As modern Christians we need to stop focusing on "the issues" of a holy life. As far as I am concerned you should try to live a life as holy as you can the way Christ wants you to. Interpreting "the laws", in my view, should be done with yourself and God. And the issues we need to concern ourselves with are that, that concern people. We need to reach out to our communities, our homeless and our unloved. There are so many people who need him and we are worried about if it is ok to have a wine toast at a wedding.

It is love, not law!

So I say to you, tear down your wall!

Get out there and get something down for Jesus, just let me know what I can do to help.