We tend to see things from the middle of two perspectives. We look to the left and then to the right and swing in either direction. From a faith standpoint, swinging right we see God as just, sovereign. Swinging left we see Him as mercy, grace, love. The reality is He is BOTH, not one or the other.
But we often focus on one and ignore the other.
We view these aspects linearly and live confused by the chaotic tension created. Recently it has rained so heavily in Kansas and for so long that rain runs everywhere. The ground is beyond saturated. Any rain we receive now water-logs streets, basements, and landscapes. It’s a problem having too much rain. Which is odd, as I found myself praying the rain would relent today because normally, in Kansas, you pray for more rain. More rain because having too little of it is a problem also. Nothing can thrive very well in hot, dry, sun-baked soil. Like-wise nothing can survive when it is being drowned. We need the rain and we need breaks from the rain. If only we could have the two in perfect tension.
Our walk needs all of God.
First, we must remember that Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. God does all the work. Legalism is the requiring of anything other than faith for Salvation. It “adds-to” and fashions man-made rules and work into something only God does. On the flip side grace does not give us license to do whatever we choose. Sin must be dealt with. We must repent. We must see ourselves as we truly are and see God as He is. I love what our pastor recently stated in that “we can’t live like hell just because we have gained heaven.”
We need to look up.
We desperately need God if we are to be able to live in balance and not swing too far left or too far right. Jen Wilkin, in her book “In His Image”, states that instead of asking the question “What should I do?” we should be asking the better question, “Who should I be?” If we look up, or rather, dig into His Word, God says quite a lot about who we should be.
“Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (1 John 2:6)
So how are we walking?
Do we embrace God’s grace? Do we also embrace His justice and sovereignty? Do we see God’s justice and sovereignty as we see grace, or do we declare God isn’t good because He may ask us to give up a sin we have grown comfortable with? Just as having too much rain or too little rain is an unhealthy balance, seeing God as one thing but not the other just isn’t good. We can not divorce God from attributes of Himself. To do so is to worship an idol of our own making, not the God of our saving and the God of our keeping. God alone holds the tension perfectly.
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