“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ If you do not commit adultery but you do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.”
Pick n Mix
We all have strengths and weaknesses. In some areas we excel, in others we do badly. In our character we face some issues which we find easy to deal with and others which pose a great challenge to us. The Bible addresses many issues to do with spirituality, morality and practical living, and we can be tempted to concentrate on the bits that we find easy and overlook those that we find difficult. But we cannot play ‘pick n mix’ with the God’s book. We either follow all of it or none of it.
This is a challenge to us in a number of areas.
Are we playing ‘Pick n Mix’ with God?
It is impossible for a mere mortal to understand God fully. He is immortal and infinite and far beyond the finest imagination of mankind. No one has ever seen God (John 1:18) and so we rely on what He has chosen to show us about Himself in the Bible. The temptation is to pick and choose which aspects of God’s character we like and to concentrate exclusively on them. The danger with doing that is that we end up with a God of our own making, rather than the real One. Christianity is not about coming up with a nice version of God that we can accommodate and be comfortable with. Christian living is about seeking the True God and getting to know Him. Are you playing ‘Pick n Mix’ with God?
Are we playing ‘Pick n Mix’ with the Bible?
My first Bible eventually fell apart when the spine went and pages began falling out. So I went and bought a new one and put the original book to one side. When I found it some years later I decided to leaf through. It was then that I was struck by something obvious that I had missed at the time. Sections of the Scripture were well read and covered in highlighter and ink where I had devoured all that the Holy Spirit had to teach me. Yet large sections like Leviticus and all the minor prophets remained clean and crisp. These were pages which had never been read. I had fallen into the trap of reading the easy bits while ignoring the difficult pages. But all of it is God’s Word. It was then that I began reading the Bible through from beginning to end. All of it needs reading and all of it needs applying. Are you playing ‘Pick n Mix’ with the Bible?
Are we playing ‘Pick n Mix’ with ourselves?
If we have a poor understanding of God and avoid large sections of the Bible, we will damage ourselves. Spiritual growth and progress in the Christian pilgrimage only comes by discovering God in the pages of the Scripture. There may be things in there that we struggle with. But avoiding that struggle will not help us. Mature believers are those who have wrestled with God and with the Bible and grown up through it. These verses talk about keeping most of the law but stumbling at one part. That is what happens when we dip into the Bible and choose not to apply it all in our lives. We become inconsistent disciples. Are you playing ‘Pick n Mix’ with yourself?
For followers of Christ there is no ‘Pick n Mix’ option. It really is all or nothing.
