We are given to extremes.
A good friend of mine informed me of one perspective on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Here the taking of the tree exposed us to the full breadth of the extremes of good and evil. Rather than depending on God for all things, left to our own devices we were now at the whim of any wind to either ends of the extremes. A significant consequence of that was that we could never be complete. We could never be whole because the decision to eat of that fruit was a decision to divorce ourselves from the tree of life. Detaching from the source of life inevitably leads to death.
So for every ounce of brilliance we exhibit, there is an incident of utter depravity from us. We’re given to those extremes and in that we express death around us. Elements of expressions of death is seen by our capacity to live on one side of an argument or another.
For example in Christian circles there are some people who believe order is best expressed in a clear outline of what should happen and not straying from that order. In some circles that order also involves limiting any spontaneous acts so that things can be done in decency and in order. People are content with this, it is a tradition that has faithfully passed down from generation to generation and being cultivated in such an atmosphere there’s no real push for reflection. If it’s not broken, there’s nothing to fix.
Meanwhile another breed of Christian comes from a different concept of order. Here the emphasis is very much on the spontaneous. There is a desire to ‘feel the move of the Spirit’ that might come from a song or a chorus sung. There might be a word that comes out which needs to be said urgently. There may be a feel for a change of direction and part of that move might require everyone to speak in unknown languages. Sure there’s a basic script that things should go off, but there’s an anticipation for that which comes from nowhere and to announce that as the presence of God in the midst.
Whilst I was conversing with the same friend who gave me the tree insight, we also talked a bit about the differences that marks so many different flavours of the Christian faith. God was a genius to make faith so multifaceted. It’s a pity, once more, that as soon as it got to man it was open to those being under the influence of the tree of that knowledge. So rather than merging these different facets for a glorious tapestry reflecting the brilliance and beauty of the Source, we divide, we bicker, we criticise and cordially keep on our side of the fence.
In all the sadness of that, however, there remains the truth. It will not be sad always. Jesus’ commitment to building His church was something that is inevitable. Jesus’ prayer for unity was not a pipe dream, but that which would be realised in gatherings of believers who trusted and obeyed. They were aware that Jesus is not returning for a denomination, a flavour, a style or a preference, but is coming for a rich tapestry of faith in the earth. Faith dependent completely on who He is and what He is doing in the earth. Faith that forms communities of grace noted for their love, grace, mercy, stand for righteousness and desire for godly justice.
I am glad that the order of God can be planned and structured as well as spontaneous. I am glad that it is not always either or, but it can be both and. I am glad that we are growing into that realisation.
I am glad aware of my failings and flaws in these areas. This is why I’m all the more grateful for the grace that is there to take me through and bring me along.
This is why I am grateful for Jesus being the way, the truth and the tree of life.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
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