Tradition Vs Faith

 

    The difference between tradition and faith is very simple.  Tradition is observing God's Word.  Faith is living God's Word.  It is subtle, but distinct.  You can know what God's Word says, but not apply it to yourself.  You can make it a list of rules that turns you into a micromanager or you can absorb what you hear and learn from God's Word and apply it your life.  

    The best way to test to see if you are an impossible perfectionist is to see if you find fault with Jesus.  If there answer is yes, then you probably make those around you miserable with your rigidity.  If the answer is no, then you have hope to really see the truth clearly.  By the way, yeses can always change into noes.

    When Jesus came, things changed but for the better.  Those stuck in the past made things hard on themselves and all that followed them.  They tried their best to keep people away from the truth that Jesus was offering.  His ways broke their tradition and the tradition was more important than the individual.  Jesus did not come to destroy the laws, but to fulfill them because He loves the individual.  The rules stayed the same, but they were more like boundaries to freedom than rigidly impossible rules to maintain.  To a perfectionist this is unacceptable.  Their rules gave them control.  Jesus gave the control to the individual.

   Anything to do with food and the meal was the most common example of clean and unclean.  It is not what we eat.  The food that God had originally declared unclean are not the healthiest food for us and can lead to long term health issues.  If you chose to eat them, then you are not sinning, you are just not eating the best food for you.  Boundaries, not rigid rules.

     Jesus came to reveal the heart.  It is our heart that dictates what is clean and unclean.  Jesus revealed evil thoughts, sexual immorality, greed, malice, envy, lies, lewdness, arrogance, slander, and folly (lack of moral judgment) are considered evil (unclean).  It is these sins that will control your worldview and what you consider "matters" in this world. They will lead to death.  However, the heart that is pure and faithful has clean faith that can live transparently.  This person is driven to grow in a Godly Worldview and help where they can.  You can't hide the truth of your heart.  It will be revealed in how you think through your speech.  

    Jesus opens the eyes and the hearts.  He reveals the truth that is within you.  He has given us all the tools to be able to understand.  That can be scary, hard, or encouraging.  We all are different and we all have to face the truth in our own way, but we do have to face it.

Mark 7