Balance Act

Have you ever watched a tightrope walker? Isn't it amazing how they can walk that thin cable, using only the pole in their hands to keep their balance?

Living the Christian life is often a balancing act. Not only must we put God before all else in our lives (which really isn't about balancing at all), we must balance elements in our Christian walk. Two important elements are truth and spirit.

In the general Christian world today, there are two basic groups. I like to call them the Traditionalist Scholars and the Spirit Warriors. The Traditionalist Scholars know their Bible. You say one word, such as baptism, and BAM! they quote every verse that contains the word baptism. They also love arguing to show how much they know.

On the other hand, the Spirit Warriors are full of a fiery passion for Christ. They are not afraid to proclaim His name to strangers. But they have no Bible knowledge. They don't know the contents of God's Word. They often teach false things simply because they don't know any better.

Each of these elements can be dangerous by themselves. Christ commends the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:2 for their perserverance, but condemns them in verse 4 for their lack of love. How can you win people to the Gospel of Christ if you are only interested in winning an argument? We must have a genuine love for people's souls if we are to win them to Christ.

We should also concern ourselves with the daily renewing of our minds (II Corinthians 4:16). This means digging into God's word and placing His words in our hearts, so that we can "be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with great patience and instruction" (II Timothy 4:2). How can we win people to Christ if we don't know how to get there ourselves? In Psalm 119:11, the writer says "Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against you." We must know what God wants of us so we can use our love for Christ to win the lost to Him.

It would be so ideal if we could morph the Traditionalist Scholars with the Spirit Warriors and come up with the true Christian: one who knows God's Word and has the passion and love for Christ to pass the truth on to the lost.