Grace and Integrity

In Ezekiel 18: 1-13, we find a nice summation of Torah logic regarding the relationship of righteousness and the "success" of the soul. Some of us might be tempted to turn the compounded predicates repeated in both paragraphs into checklists with spaces for avoiding idolatry, unclean sexual interactions, robbery, extortion, etc. However, this temptation misses the point of the logic behind such lists. The Torah, far from being a checklist 616 items strong, was rather a tight, ethical system revolving around meta-concepts like idolatry and uncleanliness. These meta-concepts were brought to bear on the most mundane of issues in such a way that condemning adultery was equally logical to paying a girls' father for her virginity and avoiding clothing of two types of cloth.

Today, we have forgone many of the directives of the Torah (at Jesus' behest, I might add) and yet we still cling to certain commands as if they were specially removed from the tight system. The fallacy of this approach should be clear, but regardless it is not my present focus today. Rather, I want to note the value of integrity within the Torah. The Torah was concerned with righteous living in all aspects of life, even the most ordinary and mundane. This value is to be applauded, for certainly God wants us to consider intentionally all the ways in which we live and bring them under his lordship. Our faith needs to be basic to our lives in such a way that our every act is informed by it and, more importantly, done out of motivation of our love for God. This holistic, godly approach to life takes, well, a lifetime to cultivate, but it is ultimately what God has in store for us. In this we find a corrective for our common laziness within our faith. I at least often do not worry about the particulars of my day but try to connect with God in prayer and meditation and churchgoing regularly. While I think this motivation is right, I also need to keep in mind that God wants to transform all of me in such a way that I do not settle for my ordinary behavior. I need to hold myself to the highest standards that I can because that is what God desires. God desires a holism and an integrity which will make every aspect of my life a "living sacrifice" (Rom. 12).

At the same time, I must not turn my ethic of life into a new Torah, a new legalism. Jesus has pointed out a new way, a way centered in a loving-relationship with Him and rooted in a loving-relationship to Christian community. These loves are to be foundationally formed by grace, which recognizes the brokenness of our human interactions and forgives our faults. Thus, while it is true that I must set high goals for myself and my behavior, guilt must not be a part of the equation. My relationship with Jesus is built on forgiveness, not on my righteousness, and therefore I must act in love rather than out of legalistic obligation. This grace, however, is likewise no excuse for lethargy however, or for settling for my broken reactions as "normal." God has called me to more.

In these dual values of grace and integrity we find correctives against both legalism and lukewarm Christian living. The balance to be struck between the two values is often a difficult one to find, but it is essential that I continue to strive and find it. When I fail, however, there is always forgiveness, and this is the beauty of the Gospel.