Tradition

Tradition

"Then the Lord said, 'Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,' (Isaiah 29:13 NASB)..."


Definitions: Tradition - handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation (Dictionary.com).

Rote - a fixed, habitual, or mechanical course of procedure (Dictionary.com).
 

There is little trouble with tradition until it keeps us from moving with God or moves us away from His commandments.

"He was also saying to them, 'You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition' (Mark 7:9)." 

Each one of us has a threshold of familiarity. Some of us hold tight to what is safe, familiar and previously successful and develop traditions around it, while others see such behavior as redundant, ridgid and at odds with spontaneous creativity. In tradition we must not sacrifice vibrant life for the safe and familiar - when things become rote, they become lifeless. In spontaneity we must not lose community or lasting relationships in the continuous shuffle - when things move too fast, people get lost. If we aren't careful we can constantly be changing ourselves away from God's kingdom advancement by having no structure, boundary or plan; and we can miss God completely if we develop rote tradition that can exist mechanically without the Spirit and Life of God. That's what happened to many of the religious leaders in Jesus' day. It is our decision, so let's choose to be filled with His Spirit and Life no matter what our threshold can take. Let's be more interested in the fullness of God than in understanding and catering to our own limitations.
   

Prayers: We pray for our child to be aware of this threshold and be willing to always move with You no matter how scary or uncomfortable.

Please help us to fully embrace Your Spirit and Life and never quench Your efforts to make way for our own.

We ask for humility and vulnerability to always be the tone of our child during construction of any plan and willingness to be moved by You whenever a custom becomes sacred. May You be the most important thing to our child always and forever.

Thank You Lord for Your help and blessings.