“Different Eyes” is about the need to understand who God is in order for us to live our lives for Him. One of the points he brings up is that when God appeared to Moses in the desert, He referred to Himself as “I Am” or “Yahweh.” This is important because different cultures had their own gods they worshipped so God needed to make it clear that He was not like those gods. It’s through Israel’s journey with Yahweh that they begin to discover who He is. “The point is this: while the names and metaphors Israel will come to use for their God may not be unique, the character of their God was matchless…with Yahweh, holiness is not about an otherness that is removed and isolated from this world, but exactly the opposite; he is involved with his people and on their side. It is this that sets Yahweh apart from other gods.” The other main point revolves around Jesus and how He dealt with people. “He provocatively pushes His audience beyond their rules to the underlying principles behind them; He is asking that they let go of legalism and live radically…as Jesus was quick to explain to his audience, rather than planning to do away with or replace the Law, his goal was simple: to give it its full meaning – and this he would do, not just by unpacking and explaining it but by reframing it.” Chalke equates it to the difference between playing a piece of music exactly as written versus improvising. The point being that not every situation has the lines of right and wrong clearly defined – we have to be willing to be open-minded instead of attempting to automatically cast judgment. It’s when we have that close relationship with God that we’re able to distinguish right from wrong and understand His will.
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