Joe and I stood there running our hands over the hind quarters of our family’s 24-year old horse. She had lost weight over the winter, and that was good. But she had begun to look a little rough as she was losing flesh in areas that needed to be maintained. Joe, an experienced horseman, explained that there is a balance that needs to be found feeding each horse. They need good nutrition to keep their weight, but not so much grain that it makes them overweight. I am just too inexperienced to know the balance. I can tell only when the damage has been done and it is already too late. I can tell the obvious, but I can’t see the damage as it slowly progresses.

It reminds me somewhat of the balance we need in our spiritual lives—the balance of knowing God’s love and mercy, yet also realizing God’s anger, wrath and jealousy. There is also a balance of God’s superworking in our lives and yet our responsibility with spiritual disciplines. Also the balance of being saved by grace and yet heeding the call to obedient living and discipleship. How easy for us to get caught in an extreme position in one of these areas. It seems to be a tendency for us Christians (maybe just Mennonites, but probably not) to get the ol’ pendulum swinging in a different direction and then having a hard time getting it stopped. Churches sometimes swing from one extreme to the other in just a few generations. Sometimes it’s called "enlightment." But, in fact, it is probably reaction to an extreme position held earlier.

Balance.

I suppose it behooves us to ask ourselves this question. Is the pendulum swinging in our lives? And while we are at it, what about our church? What about Virginia Conference? And what about the larger church (Mennonite Church USA)? Is the pendulum swinging? Are we moving to an extreme position?

There needs to be a balance. It seems to boil down to the need of having a healthy, biblical view of God and His attributes. We must know His grace and love and yet be serious about obedience and discipleship. When either is taken to the extreme, we get to looking like that ol’ horse. Either too fat or skinny, swayback and unhealthy.

Peter said it well about distorting and twisting scripture and being led astray. "You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (II Peter 3:17-18) .

In verse 18 we are told to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. We need to mature—to be maturing. We need to deepen our knowledge of Jesus. This will lead us to stability in our doctrine and our spiritual lives. Let’s be careful and mindful of the swinging pendulum. It has such great force when its swinging. It will take us to the extreme. 

Pastor Tim