Christian Jew

I've become fascinated with the Jewish-Christian tension over the last year.  This is no political/international/diplomatic interest, but a fascination with the ways of approaching God that seem contrasting.

At the risk of oversimplification, the Jewish approach to God struck me initially as being rooted in discipline.  The laws, the rituals, the feasts, and the way of life has such a firm structure that it seems to dictate rhythms which provide bridges between daily activities and seasons throughout the year.

The Christian approach to God has been driven "by grace through faith."  Access into God's presence is not provided by our disciplined efforts.  God allows us in.  Grace.  Everything we do is in response to grace, the outworking of genuine faith.

I term these "oversimplifications" because the more we peer deeply into the nature of each, we discover an actual merging.  Grace is not unique to following Jesus (some of you smell heresy here).  God's call on Abram and his descendants was grace itself.  Though Abram may have been faithful and upright morally, God could have dismissed him for any one of a thousand flaws.  Instead He extended to Abram an invitation which had no strings.  Just believe.

Everything built on top of that grace-faith (disciplines, rituals, laws, feasts) enables the believer to grow in relationship to God and become more like Him in thought and behavior.

Christian faith is different in that Christ has now come and provided the missing element - the complete sacrifice for sin.  Christ has inserted grace at the beginning of our God-relationship.  While there is a certain element of "grace" to the call of Abram, it was not a saving grace.  The grace of Judaism is a future grace.  Someday, when Messiah comes, then grace will be complete.

For the Christian, Messiah has come.  Grace is provided.  And from the Jewish rhythms we can learn to grow closer and become more like our Grace-Giver.

The rituals, feasts and disciplines have been largely lost in modern Christian practice because the assumption is that "saved by grace" means to disregard all human effort directed toward God as optional.  This misses the concept of our life being hidden in God and Christ.  When we surrender to Jesus Christ grace is the only entry way.  But a genuine faith will not stop at the door and live on the threshold.  More of grace is waiting inside as we allow His rhythms to dictate the tempo of our lives.

I welcome learning to step inside grace.  I welcome learning from Jewish discipline the rhythms of God's tempo.  It will not diminish what Christ has done, but only open the way to seeing His grace grow in me (and you).  It will be the continued answer to Peter's prayer:

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 3:18)