Don’t Touch The Stove! And Other Accommodations

The 3-year-old runs free, exploring the house, investigating everything.

There’s nothing cooking on the stove, yet. In time the stove will change from an inanimate safe dead appliance into a danger zone.

How do you explain to a 3-year-old how to read the knobs and interpret the lights? Is it off and cold? Is it on and hot? Safe to touch? Third degree burns painful?

Sure, the 3-year-old can’t reach the top of the stove, until they remember the stepstool around the corner. Even if the oven is empty, do you really want a toddler opening the door, depositing their germs, and getting their fingers caught in the door when it slams shut?

What do you do? You tell them to not touch the stove. Ever. Period.  They lack the maturity to understand how to treat the stove. So, for their own good, you just keep them away.

Brace yourselves, I’m about to offend someone. Humans aren’t as smart as they think they are.

Yes, we have seen some progress. We can see it in how God has guided his people.

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In the Old Testament era God was guiding Israel as he prepared them for their role in his plans. He told them what he knew they could handle, even though a more expansive and grandeur truth would be made known later.

1. In Old Testament times God directed his people to build him a Temple. In the ancient world, temples were where pagan gods lived. Was the God of Israel confined to the Tabernacle and later the Temple? Of course not. But he knew this is what the common people believed. He made an accommodation, for their own benefit.

In the New Testament era, the level of spiritual maturity had risen. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 we learn that God is alive in our hearts. Believers are the Temple of God. Those in ancient times may not have been able to handle that concept. Now we can.

This is similar to our understanding of the Church. Despite the first definition in most dictionaries, the Church is not a building. It’s the people of God: Ecclesia [those who respond to the call of God.]

2. A priest is someone tasked with representing the people before God. Back in the day, everyone thought it had to be this way. Only some special people could interact with God.

Ephesians 2:18 and 3:12 teach us that now we all have access to God. I’m a part of a fellowship of churches that teaches “the priesthood of all believers.”

God made an accommodation in the past when it came to those who had full access.  Now all are welcomed into his presence.

3. The whole concept of the Old Testament Law was that the people needed a detailed guide for life and faith.  It was an accommodation. I believe he gave them the Law to keep them busy, prepare them for their special role in his plans, and ultimately to prove to them that it was impossible to earn salvation by just following rules.

Enter Jesus, the only one who could fulfill the Law. Now we are no longer under supervision of the Law. [Galatians 3:23-25] Christ has given us a much higher standard to follow, with the gift of grace when we don’t do it perfectly.

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Today, when some people read the New Testament, they may see something that doesn’t seem right to them, and have a knee jerk reaction. Maybe it’s because they didn’t make the effort to learn the historical context, and therefore can’t understand what’s really going on. It could be that their own modern prejudices have clouded their judgment, and they can’t break free to see something differently. Or they may lack the spiritual maturity to allow the Spirit of God to touch their soul.

I’d like to suggest that instead of dismissing what one might not readily understand, to instead accept the possibility that a deeper truth may exist that is beyond one’s current capacity.

I fully believe that just as God made accommodations for his people during the Old Testament era, he may very likely be making accommodations for us. Different ones of course, but he knows best what we can handle.

I have some theories on ways he might be accommodating us, but I’m not sure I should write about them. If I did, would I be presuming to reveal what God has chosen to remain hidden for now? I truly don’t know.

But if I did explore them, maybe some who have a negative opinion of the Christian faith may consider that they have rushed to judgment.

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Dave Soucie lives, serves and writes in Indianapolis.

Copyright © 2024 by Dave Soucie.  All rights reserved [but permission is granted for non-commercial use only, with proper citation and by informing the author].