Interference

For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. (Romans 14:23 ESV)

 Our relationship with God is everything.  God, in fact, IS relationship.  Three ways.  And we were created in His image.  Relationship is the purpose of our creation.  It is our redemption, purchased back for us by God Himself.  But that relationship, once restored, does not just sit there.  It is not static.  Once implanted in me, it changes how I think, how I speak, and ultimately how I act.  That change cannot come from me.  It comes only from God working in me.  So my relationship with God is what  He does.  Faith, on the other hand, is what I do about  my relationship with God.  It’s not just trusting.  It is acting on that trust.

 So what does that look like?  Interactions.  Every interaction with another human being in the course of my day or my life defines my faith.  Every interaction is a response or a lack of response to God’s relationship with me.  The more intense my time spent with Him, the more powerful is my inclination to act according to His purpose.  His love will be born out in my actions toward the people He puts in my path.  Christians say, “I wish I had more faith.”  The answer to their dilemma is simply, “Do something!  Act!”  We don’t fill up with faith, we act it out.  Toward others.

 Now anything that interferes with that action (of compassion toward others) is sin.  If I become lulled into complacency, that is sin.  If I don’t respond to the change in me, that is sin.  When I do respond, that is obedience.  What is most important to remember in my obedient response is the understanding that every change that God produces in me produces life, enriches life, and promotes life.  Everything within God is life.  Everything within God is “held together” in Him.  Everything outside of God breaks down, falls apart, and dies.  And THAT is sin.

 Sin is anything that stands against life; anything that divides, destroys, erodes.  The law of increasing entropy – the second law of thermodynamics in physics terms – is, literally, sin.  It is a physical law of a universe outside of God.  It is not only the natural inclination of a fallen universe, it is a natural inclination of created beings that choose any god other than the Creator.  Destruction is anathema to God.  It is His direct opposite.  That’s why He hates it.  God’s anger is kindled against anything and everything that hurts and destroys.

 And that is why I fear God.  That is why I am deathly afraid of His wrath.  That is why fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.  His wrath is like an alarm system.  If you’re drowsing in your bed in the middle of the night and your home alarm system goes off, what do you feel?  FEAR! With very good reason!  Are you afraid of the alarm system?  Of course not.  The alarm system is not ringing “against” you, it is ringing “for” you.  It is telling you that something is wrong, perhaps that something very harmful to you is near.

 God’s wrath is like that.  When I get near something self-destructive, I want to feel His wrath.  I want to know what He hates, what makes Him angry, because I know that that thing will destroy me.  I don’t want to rationalize and say, “Well, I can’t see what’s wrong with that.  It seems harmless to me.”  If God hates it, it’s destructive. I trust my Designer.

So my faith proceeds from my relationship with God.  My actions toward others are the mirror of that relationship.  And anything that interferes with it is sin.  The good news is that God, in His word, reveals exactly what interferes with my faith.  Sometimes it doesn’t seem reasonable to me.  How could that interfere?  I can’t see anything wrong with it.  But if God does, I’m faced with a choice.  I can go my way...

 Or His.