February 23, 2015

“You let go of the commandment of G*d, and are holding on to the traditions of men.” Mark 7:8

“Now before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed. So that the law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian; for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of G*d, through faith.” Galatians 3:23ff

“We all know what it feels like to be prompted by instinct…It means that you feel a strong want or desire to act in a certain way. And, of course, we sometimes do feel just that sort of desire to help another person: and no doubt that desire is due to the herd instinct. But feeling a desire to help is quite different from feeling that you ought to help whether you want to or not. Supposing you hear a cry for help from a man in danger. You will probably feel two desires – one a desire to give help, the other a desire to keep out of danger. But you will find inside you, a third thing which tells you that you ought to follow the impulse to help, and suppress the impulse to run away. Now this thing that judges between two instincts…cannot itself be either of them. You might as well say the sheet of music which tells you…to play one note on the piano and not another, is itself one of the notes on the keyboard. The Moral Law tells us the tune we have to play: our instincts are merely the keys.” C. S. Lewis “Mere Christianity”

“For freedom Christ has set us free.” Thus says Paul in Galatians 5:1 in his argument against circumcision for new converts who want to follow Christ. It is an argument between the Law – and faith through the Spirit. In other words, tradition is one thing – following the Spirit is another. Lewis in his writing in Mere Christianity is stating the same argument. The Moral Law gives us a guide – but our faith provides the freedom to choose how we will respond. Christ has given us the tune to which we are to harmonize our lives between the Holy Spirit (which builds faith) and the freedom we each have to act on that faith. We sing our best tune showing our love of G*d and love of neighbor when we are living by the Spirit – and not allowing our actions to be diminished by “Thou Shalt…” and “Thou Shalt Not…” or by other fears.

What is the song that you live your life by? I often think the song to my life is “Send In The Clowns“. But when I really think of my life that is defined by my relationship with Jesus, the tune that comes to mind is Leaning On The Everlasting Arms:

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
Refrain:
Leaning, leaning,
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

When I live by this song, then when I see a need, instead of running away, I lean on the everlasting arms of Jesus, and suppress the instinct to run away. The season of Lent allows us the time to consider the song that inspires and informs our faith. And you may have many songs that fit the bill. And, yes they can be a sure “song sheet”, but the Spirit will lead us to true songs of expression – the keys to living “In Christ”.

Pastor Dave