Catch the Vision

The gospel :

a stumbling block or stepping stone 

“Women will be saved through childbearing.” Well…. That makes no sense. I guess we need to back up and start restructuring and rethinking our beliefs to try to incorporate this. Yet hold on. The same man that wrote this also encouraged that young men and women would be better off to remain single to be undivided in their devotion to God. Wait what? We must be missing something here. 

So often we encounter such dilemmas as these in the scriptures. Little bombs dropped by Jesus or an apostle that we really wished they would have left unspoken. For without them the whole thing would be much easier to make into a step by step pamphlet for the unlearned. I feel, however, that often these things play an important role in pointing to a flaw in our approach. When working closer to God through his word, one really must consider all things said in light of the portrait being painted throughout scripture, for much is written between the lines and much is said that is not said at all. I find that when we go through the word with a magnifying glass and a rulebook, we begin to find our faith being chipped away. At times I find myself walking away weaker than I came. Yet when I stand in a position of faith and consider the word in light of the overall message of the gospel, I find that my faith is strengthened and I slowly see the portrait more clearly. Mankind has always desired to find a list of requirements that can become their God in place of personal relationship with God. For those who take this approach the scripture becomes a stumbling block, for it was never meant to be studied and applied in the way the law was. Thus we become religious, a modern day Pharisee, complete with their hypocrisy as we make most of it a list of rules to be adhered to and then skip the parts that don’t align with our world view such as Paul’s commands regarding headwear, lack of jewelry and adornment, and so on. Just as He described the Pharisees, I feel Jesus describes us when we do this in saying, “They are blind guides who are well versed in their knowledge, yet completely blind to the portrait I am painting. They themselves have not found the truth, and they prevent others from finding it.” None of us are above falling into this trap, for indeed, it is simple enough to drive down a well marked highway complete with road signs, painted lane boundaries, sidewall barriers, and the like. Yet Jesus describes this broad road as a path to nowhere good. By contrast, groping your way along a poorly defined path through the woods requires great attention, caution, and care. Yet while this may not feel as secure and good to our flesh, Jesus described it as the path that leads to life. For on this path, no one can lean and rely on their well versed and educated understanding of the list of rules (as the Pharisees did). Rather, we must all be “unschooled, uneducated, ordinary men” who rely completely on Jesus and his holy spirit to lead us into a full, unblurred view and understanding of the portrait of the Christian walk described in and between the lines of scripture. For indeed, the planting of this understanding and vision of the heart of Christlikeness is the full purpose of the word. 

The Bible says that the law isn’t for those who live righteously, but for those who are lost to bring them to a point of repentance and guide them towards righteous living. Once we have been brought to a point of understanding, where through the word God has planted the vision of Christlikeness in us, then the work of the word is complete in us. Why then is our relationship with it often more consistent with a relationship with the law? 2 Corinthians 3:6 says that we are ministers of a new covenant. “This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.” Consider this, at the time of the early church the argument was not between the old written law and a new written law. It was between the old written law and a vision. For indeed the word was made flesh and as the intangible was made into the tangible person of Christ, the tangible rules and regulations of the law were made into the intangible law of walking by the spirit. There was nothing written yet that anyone could point to and say “here is how you must do it.” Yet I feel that all too often we approach our new covenant in the way that people approached (and misused) the old law (which we know produces death). Approaching a new thing with an old approach Jesus described as pouring new wine in old wineskins; an activity destined for failure. Undoubtedly the word is the inspired work of God, and undoubtedly every word of it is true. Yet when the vision, the heart of God, is downloaded in us through the work of both the word and the spirit bringing us into seeing the portrait clearly as described above, will we not as Jesus described “fulfill the law” in our actions and attitudes? For Jesus pointed out to the Pharisees the flaw in their efforts. “If you even look lustfully at a woman” you commit the adultery you try so hard by your efforts to avoid. Yet when we “catch the vision” and live by the spirit as I am describing, will we not cease to lust in our hearts? Then the law is fulfilled in us completely, for to the deepest place the spirit of God has penetrated our hearts and changed us from the inside out, from the root to the fruit. This is where God is at; this is the purpose of his word, and anything outside of this is flesh, religion, and human effort. When working through the word, keep your eye on the portrait being painted and don’t allow things that don’t seem to fit throw you off track. This is holding tight to your faith and it is the path to becoming the intended product of the gospel - true followers who worship in spirit and truth. Don’t come to the table to add, subtract, or amend your list of rules and procedures. Come to catch the vision.