Process, not performance

The Old Testament and the New Testament are named as such for many reasons. One of them is this: The Old and New refer to the way God used to relate to man and the way that God now relates to man.

What does it mean to be under the law and what does it mean to be under grace?

We got to understand what God is really interested in. Under the law, there was a requirement to perform. When God gave the law, the covenant came with it, saying, unless you do all these things, you will be cursed. And that's how God manifested His presence - if they obeyed and kept the things of the law. What was the point, since they were not able to keep it in the first place?

But Paul writes, the Law served as a tutor, but its purpose has been served. Now there is no requirement to enter the presence of God except to come under the blood. In that blood, the old covenant was broken. The law remains, its letter dead, but its spirit in the Son. And so, the new covenant was introduced - "This is My blood, which is shed for you." Then why do people still move in accusation, in condemnation and in guilt, when there is no more guilt left, since it was crucified together with the Lord Jesus?

I guess it's all to do with the difference between process and performance. God doesn't deal with us in performance anymore. Because performance is temporial in nature, but process is eternity. God doesn't require us to perform a set of tasks or duties. That was what the law required. But the law served as a model for what God really wanted in us, not just from us. Which is the same reason why when Jesus came, the first sermon He preached was about the values of the Kingdom, about the spirit of the law. Because it had been lost throughout time, and He was restoring that. He was setting a goal. And His heart is this, that He may be the author and the finisher of our faith. Our faith is a process, not a performance. God is not interested in stopping us from sinning in the natural. He is interested in stopping us from sinning in the spirit. He wants to eradicate every little bit of it. And that requires process. Sin in the natural is only a symptom of sin in the spirit. But God doesn't look at us and see sin. He sees what we are missing in the spirit. And it's what we are missing in our experience of Him that causes us to look for other things to fill us. As Graham Cooke says, "He doesn't see what's wrong. He sees what's missing."

Performance blinds us to the need for process. God is determined, very determined, to heal us and restore us. God never ran away from us. From the moment Adam submitted men to darkness He has been restoring us into His marvelous light, the key of which was in the cross. When we don't feel like we match up in performance to God, we destroy ourselves. When we feel we do match up, we don't see need for process anymore. And that hinders our growth. How much we need Jesus!

There's a mindset change coming to the church. It changes us. Instead of fearing mistakes, we start to accept weaknesses. Instead of accusing others, we start to nurture wounds. Instead of hiding skeletons, we start to put our lamps on their stands. Because God's glory is in the strength He exhibits for his people in their weakness. It's the joy He portrays in his people in their sadness. It's the freedom He releases to his people in their captivity. WHAT IS THE HEART OF GOD FOR US? Then we can confront without criticism, we can love without agenda, and we can fellowship without manipulation.

I think if we start seeing people in terms of the process of their walk, rather than the performance of their walk, then we can truely begin to find the gold in the dirt. What did God see in those people when He sent His Son to die for them?