Doctrine and the Law

My husband and I were talking tonight about doctrine and how poisonous it can be when it is injected into the teaching within a church.  It’s rarely overt, but subtly it’s added a little at a time, from quotes, to books hidden in plain sight among the myriad books available in the church library, to a bible study or Sunday school class on the subject, and eventually it is revealed as a predominant ideology and the church is either divided or destroyed because of it.  All because we people just have to think too much.  We have to have all the answers.  So we devise various doctrines in answer to the questions that we have focused on instead of focusing on the truth and commands clearly stated in scripture. 

 

What is the common truth, the common doctrine, among Christians?  What did Paul advise believers and teachers to hold fast to?  It’s what we call the Gospel.  The good news.  That “Christ died for our sins according to the scripture, that he was buried, that he was raised again on the third day, according to the scripture.”  That “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life”, and we need to repent of sin and “believe in the Lord Jesus and [we] will be saved.”  That “God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

What are we called to do?  To go throughout the earth, to the ends of the earth, and share the Gospel with all people!  

Who has all the answers to the questions that we have?  Who knows the meaning of the Words that seem to us to be vague or inconclusive?  God does.  Do we need to have all the answers?  Nope.  His ways are higher than ours, as much as the heavens are higher than the earth.  To assume that we have the answers is to reveal our pride.  

Who are we supposed to be following?  Whose words and doctrines?  Christ’s!  Not those of any man.  “Let God be true and every man a liar.”

That being found conclusive, we moved on to discussing the various doctrines that we have been ‘taught’ throughout our life as Christians.   We’ve been taught so many things that don’t align with the Words of Jesus or the character of God…and I’m so thankful that we have a written copy of His word to guide us to truth and the Holy Spirit to help us decipher it!  

Our conversation then turned to the common disagreements among believers, all of which stem from our understanding of the Law and how it relates to us, like how we are to raise our kids, how we are to dress, what we are to eat and drink, how we handle our money and property, etc.  People get on these kicks and they go all out and commit themselves to strictly following Old Testament laws…some of them.  We’ve been told in the past, essentially that, when we’re better Christians we will be convicted that we should dress differently, or that when we’re more mature we will realize that we shouldn’t eat pork and keep the Sabbath holy, Saturday not Sunday of course.  My husband once asked a man who wagged his finger at us for eating bacon whether or not he kept his garden plot fallow every seventh year…in jest of course, but pointing out the fact that if he’s going to put so much importance on obeying the law, why not follow all of them to such a strict t?  

The fact is that we’re not bound to the law.  But we seriously misunderstand it.  

The law is not meant to be bondage for us; the law is truly a blessing.  The law is God’s instructions for the very best use of His creations and blessings!  To snub the law, in a way, would be like snubbing an offer from Bill Gates to teach you one on one how to use Windows (it’s a weak analogy, I know).   

God’s law covered every area of life for His people, from how they were to raise their children, what His people were to eat, how they were to handle money and business, to how they were to farm.  In every instance, there is no denying that the actions or inactions He commanded are the very best options.  The animals that were “unclean” are not exactly the most nutritive or beneficial for our health, or even that appealing aesthetically.  Is it sinful to eat a steady diet of pork?  No.  Would it be wise not to eat a steady diet of pork?  Yes.  And God knows it, he did design us, you know.  

Organic farmers will tell you how important it is not to plant the same crop in a garden or field year after year (because of pests, soil-nutrient depletion, etc.), and how good it is for the soil to rest for a season.  God knew it before they did. 

We have every right in the world to bury ourselves in debt, but God knows how unwise it is, so He told his people to owe nothing to any man and to “release” people of their debts every seventh year.  

The Sabbath is another good one.  Who would cop a ‘tude about their boss offering them a day off?  But when God says, “take a day to rest” we suddenly get all hot under the collar about the idea.  Why?  It makes no sense to me how people can’t understand that God understands our frame!  He knows that not only will we get tired and stressed, but we can be determined and driven to our own detriment!  We NEED rest.  It is vital for our health and vital for our families that we have “free time” to devote to each.  So why does it cause us to feel burdened that God sanctioned a day of rest?  On a personal note, I’m very seriously considering organizing my weeks in such a way that our family can keep the Sabbath, not because we think it will earn us brownie points with God, but because we acknowledge the wisdom in it.  Sometimes we just need to stop and breathe, God freed his people to do so by commanding it.

The list could go on and on.  The point, though, is simple:  While nothing we ever do, with the exception of accepting the free gift of salvation, will ensure us God’s favor, God wants the best for His people.  The law shows us His love and concern for us in the same way that parents set rules to protect their children out of love.  We set rules and boundaries to help keep them safe and healthy, and to encourage good character.  Breaking parents’ rules does no harm to the parents, but to the children, and it doesn’t remove the children from their parents' love.  In Christ we have the freedom to eat, drink, dress, spend...and garden...according to our own consciences (at which the Holy Spirit is at work!) and just as when we’re growing up under our parents’ authority, when we realize that their instruction is in our best interest to follow, we gladly seek it!  

Now don’t start thinking that I’m saying that we should all keep the Sabbath, refrain from eating pork, and so on and so forth.  What I am saying is simply that we need to take a fresh look at the law with the understanding that it is for our best.    

In the Quiet

I was laying here in bed (way too late), praying for my children; thinking about how much I love them, thanking God for them, and acknowledging to Him that I can’t understand why He gave them to me when I’m such an imperfect mother…

And it occurred to me in the stillness of that quiet, dark moment, that if I were a perfect mother, my children would end up being perfect kids...But Jesus didn’t come to save the perfect.  He came to save the imperfect.

All of us are marred in some ways by our parents’ imperfections, but it’s those failures and the fractures they left, however small, that make it clear to us that we too are imperfect and in desperate need of help to do things the way we long to, and moreover, in desperate need of a savior.

I thank God that He knows my weaknesses as a mother, and that He is a perfect heavenly Father that can and will use every mistake that I make to fashion each of my children into the vessels He plans for them to be (Rom. 8:28).

Hitting the Snooze Button

I was reading through some of the many word documents that I have not saved or deleted this morning and I found something I had written in February.  I thought I would share it here as it served as a good reminder to me how the Lord leads us gently like a Good Shepherd, because of the changes that have taken place since I wrote this.  God is so faithful and good to show us the way and lead us through it! 

February 

Hitting the Snooze Button

This morning a realization dawned on me and I wanted to write it down, more as a way to sort it out and to see if before my eyes as a clear picture, than anything else.  Of course, like anything else I begin to understand, I will indubitably need to be reminded at some point, which is another good reason to write it down!

Anyway.

I awoke this morning thinking of dear friends of ours who lost their 12 year old son...that, among the myriad other things on my mind and heart of late, put me in a deeply pensive mood.  

There has been an ongoing battle in my spirit and, consequently, in my household the last few weeks.  My kids are driving me up the wall!  I’m losing patience with them, they seem to be losing respect for me (or at least testing to see how much they can get away with), and at the bottom of it I am almost too overwhelmed to fight the good fight.   Isn't there an autopilot button somewhere?

What I realized this morning is that these two things that I woke up thinking and praying about are inter-related in a very sad, pathetic way.

Two years ago I was frustrated with parenting.  Sure, I set myself up for it, some might think.  I could have sent my kids off to school for 6+ hours a day and had a little more breathing room, less on my to-do list, a cleaner more organized house, and little to no frustration over “schooling”…but that’s not what I was called to do.  I was called very clearly by the Word of God to train up my children, not to let a state run school do so.  I'm responsible for teaching them the truly important stuff, to prepare them for whatever it is that God has created them to do.  But in the day to day, I found myself to be stressed out and exhausted.  Because of my perspective, my focus, and my expectations I had lost sight of what was truly important about these few years that I have with my kids.  

What it took for me to recognize this was the sudden, accidental death of my friend’s young son.  It was a very real and sobering wake up call for me.  What does hovering over my seven year old, giving him the evil eye because he doesn’t focus on 30 multiplication problems, accomplish if God calls him home before he ever needs to use multiplication in real life?  What is the importance of academic excellence if achieving it breaks the bond between me and my child? or if his heart is turned away from the Lord?

If I knew that I might only have a few short years with my children, how would I want to spend them?  Heck, I would toss the workbooks out the window and just hold them...I would fervently share the Gospel with them... Their giggles and play would put a smile on my face instead of wrinkles and head aches.

My friend’s tragic loss turned my world around.  The way I taught my children at home was transformed; my goals and the bulls eye of my aim was adjusted, and I praised God for the chance He’d given me to start over.  I was incredibly grateful that He woke me up before it was too late.  My two oldest children have since repented and accepted Christ's gift of salvation!  Praise God!

…but I realized this morning that somewhere along the line I pushed the snooze button.  My attention has been diverted, my eyes off the bulls eye.  Sure, I’m still facing the target, it’s not as though every day is full of frustration and devoid of love…but there’s an overall feeling of frustration because I’ve once again lost sight of what’s really important.  God gave me a wakeup call two years ago and I pushed the snooze button.  How sad.  

Certainly, I could use a lot of excuses.  A new baby, resuming a “structured” day of schooling after two months of freedom and non-stop play, sleep deprivation, blah blah blah…but there’s no excuse good enough to justify it.  The fact of the matter is that whether or not tragedy strikes, I do only have a few short years with my children.  These little beings change with each short-lived stage, they transform sometimes from one day to the next!  (I could write an entire post on the transformation from age 4-5 in my children)  There is joy and fun to be had each day, opportunities to show them who God is…and it’s far too easy to miss those moments.  

It's way too easy to turn teachable moments into frustration, or to take an opportunity to share God's grace and instead point out failure, to focus on human "success" and neglect humility.  It’s way too easy to turn moments that should bring a smile to my face into moments of frustration because I want to do what I want to do.   Like when my five year old wants to tell me what’s on her mind (silly as her thoughts may be) and I shush her because it’s time to read or write.  Or when my son is playing LOUDLY with his sisters and I tell them to settle down and in the next moment yell at him for not being nice to them (DUH).  Then there’s the worst of it…when one or more of them wants to sit and snuggle with me or talk as I’m writing up their lessons for the day and I tell them to move because they’re “making me mess up their lessons”. 

Don’t get me wrong, there are important things to be done every day.   Learning is important, discipline is important, schedules are important…but if they’re not applied in the context of loving and enjoying this family God has blessed me with then they’re all done in vain. If my focus is on this world instead of God's Kingdom, then it's all utterly in vain.

That being said, I’m heeding this gentle reminder and refocusing…and keeping my hand off that darn snooze button!