And with that foundation, we are called to continue growing up into our Messiah Y’shua. Because our designed destiny is to rule and reign with Him as His Bride.
Part of growing up involves feasting on the Word – the Living Word (Jesus!) and the Holy Bible – that reveals Him. As Leif Hetland notes; as we soak in His words – we “get ahold of them” And then, by His powerful grace; His words “get ahold of us”!
It is important to understand that all of us bring our own “lenses” or filters to the written Word (and even the revelations He gives us). This is part of why books like Brent Lokker’s “Daddy, You Love Me” are so important. If we assume that Father God is hard to please and condemning – then we will “find” what we are expecting to see. But if we see the big picture of the extravagant love of our Creator and Father – then the Bible becomes alive with this truth.
Since we all have our own "lenses", does that mean we can ignore everything in the Bible that doesn’t match our “view”? That would not be wise. We would then remain immature (like children) as Paul observes in the verses above from his letter to the Ephesians. And I’ve seen how people latch onto “doctrines” that seem to justify self-centeredness, hardness of heart, or an “elite” attitude towards others. But, “no worries”; our Papa is patient and grace-filled with us – and He continues helping us grow up to be like Jesus. All inspired Scripture is valuable to us - even the parts that we don't yet know what to do with.
Living With The Tension Between Some Biblical Truths
Some of my favorite teachers – including Graham Cooke, Kris Vallotton, and Paul Manwaring observe that Biblical values, coffee mugs, and even our bodies must be held in some tension for life to flow. Part of spiritual maturity is being able to live life and make decisions while aware of the tension between some Biblical truths.
For example, the written Word tells us to love people, and to extend grace and forgiveness even as God loves us and forgives us. And “shepherds” are also called to protect “sheep” from “wolves”. These values must be held simultaneously by leaders –even though there is a tension between them.
When we love God and His Word; how do we understand and apply His truths-in-tension to the challenging situations in our life? The key answer is our relationship with the Holy Spirit. We need Him to lead us into all truth – indeed how Truth (the person of Jesus) desires to respond with us to each situation. The Holy Spirit will illuminate the Scriptures and help us see His priorities for us. Without leaning on the Holy Spirit, we can justify our actions with scripture passages, but miss our Father’s heart....
I encourage you to embrace the deeply engaging process of growing up in all things into Jesus - our Savior, King, and Bridegroom.
14 “…that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him, who is the head – Christ—“ The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesian church (chapter 4 NKJV)
Gratefully,
Russ Fochler
P.S. If you would like to study truth and the Bible in much more depth and breadth, I highly recommend Kris Vallotton’s notes on “The Truth About Truth”. You can read and download them from:
http://www.kvministries.com/sites/default/files/downloads/documents/the_truth_about_truth.pdf
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