Shalom all,
There were two men, one called Chris and the other called Mike. Both sat down to play a game. Chris understood how to WIN the game and Mike understood how to PLAY the game. This began a debate…
Chris: “There’s no need for me to play the game, I know how to win it already”
Mike: “How can you win the game if you don’t play it? You don’t even know the rules.”
Chris: “So what? I know how to win the game. That’s all that matters. Why do you play if you don’t know how to win?”
Mike: “I do know how to win... kind of. But more importantly, I know how to play and all the strategies”
Chris: “You don’t need to know all the rules and strategies to win the game, it’s quite simple!”
Mike: “Well how can you even win the game if you don’t play it in the first place??”
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Many times in our lives we like to think everything is black or white. We don’t like the uncertainty of grey. Therefore, when we have chosen a side, we vigilantly argue for it, partially out of belief and partially to not accept that we’re wrong. Accepting we’re wrong can have a catastrophic, reformative implications for us, which we naturally avoid at all costs.
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” ~ Matthew 7:13-14.
The word used for narrow above can also mean compressed, as in surrounded from both sides. Imagine like a narrow path in the middle of many wrong paths, which get further in error the further they are away from the middle, correct one.
Chris represents the typical mindset of Christians. Mike represents the typical mindset of Messianics. Such mindsets in both disciplines are wrong. It’s not just grace and it’s not just law. It’s both. It’s in the middle, as a fine line, a narrow path – sharing the correct offerings from both but not straying off into the extremity of either.
Should we take advantage of grace as Christians? Should we enslave our family with Torah as Messianics? Neither. Both such ways aren’t “complete”. Willing collaboration, from both sides, is needed. This can only bring blessings to each other. Or shall we continue to hide from the grey narrow path, because of the catastrophic, reformative implications?
Consider what's at risk here. Is it really worth just arguing repetitively with so little time?
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The conversation could continue like this, forever…
Chris: “Listen! I know how to win! You are trying to bombard me with the rules and I won’t have it! You are in massive error! Be gone!”
Mike: “Fool! You can’t win without the rules! You are blinded to the truth and probably will never ever win the game!”
Or we could change it for ourselves, with humility...
Chris: “Okay, I don’t know all the rules, I didn’t really get all of them to be honest. But I know how to win. Maybe we can work together?”
Mike: “Sounds good. Tell you what, I’ll walk you through the game, a step at a time, and you guide me on how to win it. Deal?”
Thank you for reading this long post!
Love & Shalom
There were two men, one called Chris and the other called Mike. Both sat down to play a game. Chris understood how to WIN the game and Mike understood how to PLAY the game. This began a debate…
Chris: “There’s no need for me to play the game, I know how to win it already”
Mike: “How can you win the game if you don’t play it? You don’t even know the rules.”
Chris: “So what? I know how to win the game. That’s all that matters. Why do you play if you don’t know how to win?”
Mike: “I do know how to win... kind of. But more importantly, I know how to play and all the strategies”
Chris: “You don’t need to know all the rules and strategies to win the game, it’s quite simple!”
Mike: “Well how can you even win the game if you don’t play it in the first place??”
-----------
Many times in our lives we like to think everything is black or white. We don’t like the uncertainty of grey. Therefore, when we have chosen a side, we vigilantly argue for it, partially out of belief and partially to not accept that we’re wrong. Accepting we’re wrong can have a catastrophic, reformative implications for us, which we naturally avoid at all costs.
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” ~ Matthew 7:13-14.
The word used for narrow above can also mean compressed, as in surrounded from both sides. Imagine like a narrow path in the middle of many wrong paths, which get further in error the further they are away from the middle, correct one.
Chris represents the typical mindset of Christians. Mike represents the typical mindset of Messianics. Such mindsets in both disciplines are wrong. It’s not just grace and it’s not just law. It’s both. It’s in the middle, as a fine line, a narrow path – sharing the correct offerings from both but not straying off into the extremity of either.
Should we take advantage of grace as Christians? Should we enslave our family with Torah as Messianics? Neither. Both such ways aren’t “complete”. Willing collaboration, from both sides, is needed. This can only bring blessings to each other. Or shall we continue to hide from the grey narrow path, because of the catastrophic, reformative implications?
Consider what's at risk here. Is it really worth just arguing repetitively with so little time?
-----------
The conversation could continue like this, forever…
Chris: “Listen! I know how to win! You are trying to bombard me with the rules and I won’t have it! You are in massive error! Be gone!”
Mike: “Fool! You can’t win without the rules! You are blinded to the truth and probably will never ever win the game!”
Or we could change it for ourselves, with humility...
Chris: “Okay, I don’t know all the rules, I didn’t really get all of them to be honest. But I know how to win. Maybe we can work together?”
Mike: “Sounds good. Tell you what, I’ll walk you through the game, a step at a time, and you guide me on how to win it. Deal?”
Thank you for reading this long post!
Love & Shalom
