Why Not?
Why wouldn't everyone want this? Many of us feel no need. We are complacent. Our circumstances are OK. When we compare ourselves to others, we feel acceptable.
Others of us lack stamina in our commitment to spiritual growth. Although we have glimpsed God's love, we fail to see the true nature of grace. Thus, obedience can make us uncomfortable. We simply don't persevere.
The secular world lives separated from God's love and care. Unmet needs turn into lusts (I Jn 2:16). Pride, materialism, and sensual pleasure become driving forces. These create a distorted value system that causes resistance to God's call. Fearing they will be deprived, many refuse to take a deeper look and simply walk away.
Then there are the legalists, like Nicodemus. They tend to judge their spiritual life by their performance. Legalists placate their conscience by doing right rather than by knowing and trusting God. Rather than filtering obedience through grace, they deal with it directly though their conscience.
Nicodemus believed in the law (right and wrong) and wanted to do right. He was not really a phony. Superficially, Nicodemus looked pretty good. However, he was simply a moralist - doing "right". God's mercy and love were not the inspiration behind his actions. He felt no need for grace.
Legalists are unaware of their need for a real connection with God's love. They fail to see the spiritual quality of the law. They define right by rules rather than by the more central spiritual qualities of love and compassion. That right and wrong focus fails to challenge their measured sense of goodness. They may have a form of relationship with God, however, it lacks substance.
The permissive camp also falls short. This group finds comfort in maximizing a so-called grace, while minimizing their responsibilities. They dumb down the standard or simply ignore it. The permissive don't believe in the goodness of the law or truth. They don't value law. They are spiritually lazy, shunning moral responsibility. True grace, however, is for those challenged by their standards, those humbled by their spiritual need.
Many are in this camp. Group norms define their standards. They go with the flow. Whether secular or religious, they are relatively comfortable. Unless shaken out of their complacency, they remain oblivious to what's missing.
A fuzzy, superficial, or ambiguous attitude toward law weakens the pedagogue. It enables both legalism and permissiveness. It allows the legalist to see the law as do-able, as simply doing good things. A weakened law allows the permissive to live in complacency.
However, if you beef up the law by presenting its deeper issues, depth of character and love, permissiveness is not a viable option. You overwhelm the legalist as well. Such qualities cannot simply be performed.
This leaves only one option - grace. Those who focus on connecting
with and experiencing the nature of God's love, especially as it impacts His
relationship to our performance, find a wholesome discipline that comes from
the heart. It is neither legalism nor permissiveness.
Copyright
8/04, Patrick Fagenstrom - edited 4/10