The Heart of Christ - the Heart of a Father

And the joy we share as we tarry there / None other has ever known

I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses

And He walks with me, and He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known

- C. Austin Miles

In “Orthodox Again,” I argue for the reasonableness and necessity of Christian orthodoxy - that is, strict adherence to the Word of God as authoritative. In this series, I examine why even Christians, especially modern ones, hesitate to enforce “the law of the Lord” or Scripture’s moral standards. We hear that “law” is an outdated Old Testament construct, and in some ways, I would agree. However, it seems the true gripe with so-called overly “traditional,” “fundamentalist,” or “legalistic” interpretations of God’s moral edicts is rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding about the balanced nature of Scripture.

Humans are prone to extremes; however, God's Word is meticulously balanced. A single scripture, taken out of context, can lead excitable readers to irrational conclusions, but the rest of the Word, the whole of the sacred text, will draw us back to the God-honoring center.