I am writing this in my little ten by ten office in my home, sitting at my desk. At my left is the sole two by three foot window. From my perspective I can only see some parts of leafless trees, a little bit of the snowy road past my house and the top half of my neighbor's house. I have to get up and go to the window before I can get the complete picture of all that is north of my house.
I see a parallel to this in my Christian walk. From my youth I saw my relationship with God in terms of "doing the right thing". I was so focused on this approach that I left a mainstream Christian denomination and became involved in my present denomination, which at that time had some pretty specific rules on stewardship, worship, and diet. These rules came to define me as a Christian. It was like looking out a window and seeing only one perspective, and missing the complete picture.
What is the "big picture?" Paul defines it as the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our salvation. In 1 Cor 15:3-4 he refers to this as being of "first importance". It is the Gospel message.
Only occasionally did I get a glimpse of the complete picture through the window of the Word of God. But each time I was so focused on my perspective that I missed the splendor of what I was really looking at.
The first time was when I was a teenager. I happened upon 1 Cor 6:19-20: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." Interestingly, there are not really explicit "dos" or "don'ts" in these two verses, but I remember how these verses were a definite guide on teen issues - everything from how I studied in high school and college to guidance in managing the sexual pulls that are especially strong in those years.
A second glimpse occurred much later. Every Christian knows that the Bible teaches us to "love your neighbor as yourself." As I approached middle age, I increasingly realized that loving my fellow man couldn't be reduced to dos and don'ts. I began to appreciate the wonderfully positive book of Philippians. I found it to be a great help in human relationships, especially these verses: "...in humility consider others better than yourselves. ... Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, ... humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!" (Phil. 2:3-8). Again, there is not a single "do" or "don't" here, but I found these verses to be a solid foundation for rationally deciding what to do in dealing with others. I still refer to these verses often.
I will relate one more glimpse. I did a Wednesday night Bible study about 3 years ago in our Church on the topic of grace. I summarized my personal systematic study of the New Testament use of the word "grace". The point of Titus 2:12 really made an impression on me. It says the grace of God teaches us " to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age." "WOW!" I thought, "we have all these education programs proclaiming 'Just say no' to drugs and premarital sex and the Bible says God's grace will teach us to do what's good and not do what's bad."
In reading about these three glimpses, I hope you caught what I missed for a long time. What I didn't see was that the Gospel was the infinite illuminating light for the Christian walk, not a finite list of dos and don'ts. For a Christian, the Gospel is the ultimate guidance for all issues of life.
A couple of years ago, our denomination took a new look at our unique dos and don'ts. We had to face the difficult fact that our distinctive practices did not define us as Christians. Rather, a Christian is one who believes and obeys the Gospel. It took real effort to forsake my limited perspective and walk up to the window.
At that time, I re-read large portions of the New Testament and I made note of what the writers saw as the authority for issues of conduct. I found that what I had only seen as a glimmer before was emblazoned in passage after passage. I discovered that the Gospel illuminates and colors all we do, say and think - the totality of our lives! It's the "big picture".
I have come to see that CHRISTIANITY IS NOT ABOUT WHAT I DO OR DON'T DO; IT'S ABOUT WHAT CHRIST DID FOR ME!! Pardon me for shouting, but it's an exciting vision! If you have that vision, thank God for it, share it, and celebrate it in your worship! If the vision has become dimmed, renew it in your prayer, study, and worship. If you do not have that vision, "seek and you will find" is Christ's promise.