14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
Sometimes we hold onto traditions more than we hold onto our relationship with God. We have all heard the stories of churches splitting over the color of the carpet or wall paint. Although, I suspect that the real split was over something totally different and the color choice merely served as a safe outlet for venting the pent-up anger and frustration. Paul was zealous, filled with a fire that burned. He was like blow-torch, a flame-thrower if you would. He let the fire fly and burn up what he thought should be burned up. He thought he was on God’s mission. But being passionate for something is not the same as being passionate for the Truth! Many of us have been passionate, caring deeply for some cause. We got on our hobby horse and rode for a season, energized by our own strength and power. After a period of time we fizzled, our energy supply used up, and our egos bruised. At the time we thought we were on the right track only to learn later on that we had run off course. How can we tell if we are off course? An old saying “If it’s true, it isn’t new” gives us a good start. Truth doesn’t change overnight. True is true always. So if the thing you are running after is something new, chances are it isn’t true. That is a hard sell in our culture of ‘new’ things. We have come to feed on a diet of ever-increasingly sparkling gadgets that we think will meet our needs. But each one is designed to partially fill the desire and lead you on the model 2B. But model 2B doesn’t satisfy either. None of these externals can satisfy the eternal longing of every human heart. We want and need the relationship with God found in relationship with Jesus. Anything less than a vibrant, growing relationship leaves us hungry and thirsty for more. We must resist the temptation to reach out to things and other people to meet our deepest need. Only God can satisfy that hunger. Go to His banquet table. Read the Word.
The Arnold Journey 