My 13-year-old grandson fertilized
our grass, but his grandad forgot to tell him to keep the spreader moving and dispense
the chemicals evenly, so we now have a couple of burned places in the lawn. Sometimes
mature believers, in our zeal to help others grow, do something similar to babes
in Christ. It’s not a case of burning them with extra-biblical teachings, but many
of us have forgotten what it was like to be that new creation in Christ and the
need for having the Word spread evenly. Jesus said, “And you experts in
the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly
carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them” (Luke 11:46
NIV).
1 comment:
Gail;
-----You never lack interesting concepts. When I was a babe in Christ, I was deeply disturbed emotionally. I took my questions to a few counselor types in the churches, but, as far as I could tell, the answers I got smacked of boiler plating. Being the soul of over-reaction that I am, I decided I would need to figure things out on my own (the Bible says seek good counsel, oops, I didn‘t keep seeking.)
-----Every concept in God‘s Word is a gateway to another concept. All of the concepts network to form one complete statement: The God of truth will save every man of falsehood who sincerely cries out to Him to be made true. “The Word spread evenly” looks like generalization, like boiler plating, but it offers again the Gate leading into its intimate network of ideas. I perceived that the few counselors I approached expected me too hang around the front Gate. Which, of course, is a good idea, in a manner of speaking.
-----But each of us is an unique particular for whom generalization will only somewhat work. True spiritual efficacy comes through the specific scriptural concepts of the broader network. Other people point us in the approximately correct direction for the specific scriptural concepts we need, but we can only be led to that one effective specific by the Spirit of the Gate. Until then, we practice Proverbs 2:3-8. In the end, it is not the spreader’s effort which most effects the seeker, but the seeker’s.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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