Let’s suppose you have a 50-year-old house, and it is starting to show its age. The roof, the sewer, the plumbing and the electrical all need attention. You call in modern building contractors for estimates and they all suggest radical and expensive improvements. You must replace the wiring; you must tear out walls and ceilings: you must replace windows and doors etc. The city would then demand you add updates and charges you for permits and inspections fees. Your taxes would then go up. Nearly all the builders suggest you use their special products and then buy their extended warranties.
Then you remember the name of the original architect and builder who is still alive but long retired. He says he will send his son who was with him every step of the way when your house was being built and knows your house inside and out. The son declares that the house has great bones and just needs some gentle touches. He fixes the wiring in 30 minutes; he points out several simple solutions for things the modern experts wanted to destroy or replace. How could all this be? Because he designed and built it and understands its strengths and weaknesses and because of his abilities and expertise.
The Godhead (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) designed and created your body and soul and knows everything about you down to the number of hairs on your head (Gen 1:26-27) (Gen 2:7) (Mt 10:30). They carefully wove each cell in the womb of your mother (Ps 139:14-16) (Isa 44:2) (Job 31: 15). They also crafted a special place for themselves in your soul in which they could live (Jo 14:23) (Jo 14:17, 23). They sent God the Son (Heb 1:8) (Col 1:15-16) and later God the Spirit (Rom 8:9) (Eph 3:16) to earth to show humans how to spiritually rebuild their houses (souls) (Jo 3:3-6). Much like the physical house ages and eventually decays and collapses, our mortal bodies will also do the same and we will die (Heb 9:27). The soul, however, can be renewed day by day (2 Cor 4:16).
Unfortunately, the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ time on earth chose to add extra laws, customs and traditions to God’s plan of salvation and renewal (Lk 11:46) (Mt 15:8-9). Rather than clinging to the pure and simple teachings of the Builder’s son, church leaders down through the ages and still today add rules, laws, creeds and ordinances. They demand that people obey complicated and unscriptural ideas. Perhaps this is because of ignorance or vanity, but the usual reason is control and profit (Acts 20:29-30) (2 Jo 7-9) (3 Jo 9-10).
Jim Bailey
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