So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years. I fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing. Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles—free from those laws. You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you.
Galatians 4:9-12 NLT
The world has spiritual principals and ways that sound good. The enemy does not seek to steal, kill and destroy with only things that are clearly evil and wickedness. The enemy also does a great job of offering us something that sounds “good” but that isn’t the “best”. The poison and traps that the enemy set before us are not always clearly marked as evil – in fact, they can appear to be good and attractive and useful.
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
Genesis 3:6 NKJV
Eve didn’t see the danger in eating the apple because it looked good to her eyes. She reasoned with herself and listened to the enemy who told her – it’s okay, you don’t have to listen to God. But God doesn’t warn us of things so that we just can ignore them and die – He warns us so that we might live and have an abundant life. His warnings aren’t there so that we can decide to ignore Him and choose the broad way of destruction where we make all kinds of justifications for ignoring His guidance and doing it our own way.
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts. To do righteousness and justice Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
Proverbs 21:2-3 NKJV
It is better to live His way than to live our own rebellious and powerless way of constantly seeking forgiveness through religious sacrifices. And I’m not talking about the laws and “relative moralities” of men or even the law of Moses, but I’m talking about a greater law that fulfills both. I’m not talking about something “good” that the enemy can twist and turn for evil purposes. I’m talking about what is best.
Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 22:37-40 NKJV
Have you been satisfied with doing it your way, justifying all kind of things in your life that are “good enough” and settling for less than the best?
Have you fallen into religious practice and tradition and sacrifice instead of resting in the freedom of loving Him with your everything, surrendering to His perfect advice and guidance, and loving and serving others?
He is perfect and best. Let Him be your only portion, you holy fools, you faithful servants, you recklessly abandoned lovers of Christ – whose ways confound the wisdom, philosophy, and reasoning of the scholars, the theologians, and the religious.
Are we foolishly trying to earn favor with God who lived us even when we were His enemy? Or so grateful for this free gift of grace, for our adoption as Children of God – that we offer the only thing we have to bring, our lives, as a living sacrifice – as our worship to our perfect, holy, righteous, merciful and loving God?
Harold J. Ballinger 