Christians live spontaneously in the Spirit, not in loveless legalism. (Romans 8:2-4) The cause of much church friction is religious legalism, and joy is almost always its first casualty. A well-known preacher from the USA once told me that he didn’t realize he had lost his freedom until, while reversing his car out of his garage one day, he suddenly asked the Lord: “Where did this bondage come from?” In trying so very hard to “get it right” he had got it wrong.
The Lord laid on my heart that I should preach against religious legalism to a church in a small church in Cornwall. The sentence He gave me was: “A sign of good mental health is the ability to accept and live with imperfection.” I knew that it would be the first and last time that I would be invited to preach in that church.
I obeyed the Spirit of God and preached that, and the congregation sat stone-faced throughout. No response whatsoever. So, I began praying for the sick and the Lord healed two sick people on the spot. I later heard that the Lord sent a preacher from Germany to preach pretty much the same thing.
We should learn to live with and accept the imperfections of others. The ancient Greek word translated “perfect” in the New Testament means “mature.” A green apple of the Jonathan kind is not imperfect, it’s just immature. Young people are often criticized because they’re “green” — especially preachers’ kids who some say “should know better!” But left alone and given time, they’ll ‘hang on’ and ripen into red apples. They’ll grow to maturity.
Christianity is a spiritual way of life, not a series of religious rituals. “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9) Our five senses enable us to hear, see, smell, taste and touch. But God’s Spirit reveals to us things that are invisible, inaudible, and inconceivable.
The apostle Paul speaks of “things that are freely given to us of God,” the “deep things” of the Spirit of God that are beyond our natural, sensual ability to perceive and understand.
Most Jews in the time of Jesus were unable to see with their eyes, hear with their ears, or understand with their hearts (Matthew 13:15). Their lack of spirituality worsened throughout the time of the first apostles (Acts 28:27). But those who had their spiritual eyes and ears opened and understood with their hearts, welcomed God’s salvation in Jesus Christ.
Living in praise of our Lord’s accomplishments, and entering fully into God’s spiritual rest are but two of many ways that we can live brighter, happier, Christlike lives. Spontaneity in the things of God enables us to escape the restrictions of religion and to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
God’s mercy triumphs over His judgement, and so too should our love and kindness triumph over any rules-based tendency on our part to judge the imperfections in those around us who are immature in the Faith. Should you find this hard, I suggest that you soak your spirit in the Apostle Paul’s inspired Love Letter to the church at Corinth (First Corinthians, chapter 13).