James 3:17 But the wisdom that is
from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated,
full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
Where does balance come from in the Christian life? One
doesn’t seek it, nor buy it, and one can’t find it through all the knowledge
you put into your system. Balance is achieved. Notice the wheel, how well balanced it is? When there is no balance, the wheel will not roll!
Balance is achieved by having a goal and reaching it, like climbing to the
highest mountaintop and looking out at all the glory, you have achieved a goal.
Balance is holding onto that goal once it is achieved.
The lack of balance in a Christian’s life will certainly
cause a bit of trouble; sleepless nights, worry, stress. When you achieve a
balance of all that God has shown you there is only one outcome and that is of
pleasurable peace.
Pastor Tim talked about the intellectual Christian. That to
ME, is the type of Christian who builds his strength and faith on KNOWLEDGE of
the bible. Sometimes he/she can spew scripture down to the book and chapter,
sometimes he can find a scripture (via google?) that deals with suffering,
pain, need, faith etc. He is the reader/believer I spoke of in my Lent series.
When only the head is involved with Christianity, you lose
sight of the balance. I know of many spiritual based faiths that speak of
balance also and in the Christian faith it is not much different for the
spiritual Christian who has learned to balance his/her faith with the head
(knowledge), will (action), heart (a deep passion).
With everything in life, if you just gain knowledge of
something, what exactly are you gaining? A big ego? “Yeah, I know this, that
and the other thing.” Whoop-de-doodle, you’re knowledgeable.
If you put that knowledge into action with a deep passion,
you are balancing the three. The will, the heart and the mind. We do not take
up Christianity (just gain knowledge) we are taken UP by Christianity. With our
hearts and minds and physical actions we are drawn to be LIKE Christ.
God’s Word is spiritual food. We grow by it, we're seasoned by it, we’re
transformed by it. The Holy Spirit uses the word to revive you, restore your
spirit and change your heart. You must process the filling of your spirit and
OBEY what you are being called to do.
If I want to be used of God, it is important that I fill my
mind, my heart, and my life with the Word of God. A practicing Christian has
strength to fight the enemy, he is refreshed daily by the wisdom he holds and
transformed so that the old person who sat and judged his fellow man, name
calls, feeds the fire of satan’s lure, is gone, he is NO MORE, he is transformed.
I see a lot of folk who claim to be Christian sit in some
safe corner of the globe reading and believing that no matter how often he/she
sins, they’ll be forgiven and taken up to heaven when their time comes. People
see them profess Christianity but their actions are far from Christlike giving
people the idea that sin is good. “I can just call myself a Christian and God
will save me.”
Christianity is a transformation, the balance of the heart,
mind and soul. If the outer world doesn’t see the balance in you, and YES, they
will see the transformation, they get the idea that Christianity is a false
belief system. You have turned people AWAY from God instead of TO God.
You don’t hold the power of transformation in your own hand.
All the reading and believing in the world will shape you but it will not
transform you. I know you’re tired of me saying this but CHURCH aids in the
transformation. Action is going to cause a reaction.
Let me see if I can simplify this. Let’s say you’re hungry.
You go to the freezer and find meat. You think to yourself, that sure looks
good. (Christianity looks good) You then place the meat in the oven or frying
pan and begin to cook it. (This is where you read and believe.) You share this
cooked meat with your friends and they all spit it out. It tasted horrible,
drab, lifeless. You realize you didn’t marinate and season the meat. You took
no action to make this meat a meal.
Marinating the meat is like bathing in the word. You season
the meat, you cook the meat, you share the meat with people who presumably are
not vegetarians. Sharing the word with unlike minds is like sharing meat with a
vegetarian. Church is a place of like-minded people. You will know who and who
is not a vegetarian. You have transformed the meat into a solid meal for ALL to
partake of, not just the carnivorous meat eaters.
Transformation and balance of the transformed individual
allows you to be of a pure mind, spiritually and physically. People with a
seasoned just right balance, shake off the snares of the devil. Their strength
is in the meal and the deliverance of the meal.
People have eyes to see and if you are not balanced, it
shows. It doesn’t help God any if you're unbalanced. The men and women God used WERE
sinners but by their transformation, they didn’t dwell in sin because it was a
given that they’d be forgiven, they worked earnestly to live a pure life; they
were all balanced (seasoned) in the proportion God dished out.
