Joshua Van Oostrom

The desire to do things in a certain way is not innately evil. The Lord made an orderly universe that is built on logic and reasoning. To say that God is efficient is more than an understatement. He also made us with a brilliant curiosity that enables free-thinking and a desire to find purpose and truth. Both of which can only be found in Him. A close opposite to curiosity is particularity. Becoming set in one’s ways completely is dangerous to progress and self-growth. Unfortunately, many religious folk of history and today have been plagued by particularity. They follow man-made traditions and precepts to the letter. Their obsession with their self-made order quickly becomes a religion in and of itself. The gratification of completing certain tasks fuels the deception of achieving sanctity by human power. The intelligence of man and ability to follow a script replaces the need for a Savior. Repetition and mindless agreement transform one’s curiosity into a faithless nightmare. Jesus constantly condemned the particularity of the Pharisees. These men feared the presence of lepers to avoid “spiritual filth” and would scrutinize others for their failures in following the mosaic statutes. Laws that often times were misapplied to the situation at hand and were not enforced out of love. These enforcers knew not God nor His ways. Their particularity blinded them from the Kingdom of God, even as God in the flesh did miracles right in front of their very eyes.

God breaks us away from our comfort zones. He puts a new heart in us when we are born again and changes our entire thought process. Perspectives are transformed in an instant and a new believer is humbled by the thought of knowing very little.

It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we are led in our day-to-day lives. We listen to the still voice for direction and put our faith in our Jesus for the forgiveness of sin. The particulars of our old selves are forgotten and the enemy’s attempts to keep us trapped in a death spiral of sin are tarnished. We no longer rely on ourselves or the leadership of man for our acknowledgement and purpose. We do not limit the power of God through our obsessions with time, numbers, and orderly conduct. Rather, we allow the Creator of all things to go before us and handle our needs in advance.

It is our faith that pushes us to new heights. God will use this faith to get us to try new things. He wants us to talk to new people, explore new places, and dwell in the excitement of His Kingdom. Old habits are broken and new ones are formed. The robotic restrictiveness of the flesh is no longer the voice of reason. The Spirit of the Living God takes the wheel and peace overflows.

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