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Define the concept of “holy tension”. What desires conflict in this battle? How does the New Covenant help us face this tension?
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The tension come in the realization that who I am, is not who I long to me, and who God says that I am.
My desire to satisfy my longings in second things is the essence of where I am- vs the Self that is fully aware of my identity as a daughter of a trustworthy God that has full satisfaction in the relational grace with the Father that sets me free.
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Holy tension happens when something in me realizes I am not who I was designed to be and long to be as opposed to who I see myself to be now. The battle occurs when the something inside of me long to be a different person that who I am. It is in the New Covenant that I can see who it is God designed me to be. It is through the power of the New Covenant that I can move from my current life, win the battle and become my true self in God.
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There’s a tension between what I want as a self-protecting person and what I want as a new creature loved by God. The New Covenant that the gospel brings, that Jesus loved me so much that he gave himself for me and that the Father now sees me as righteous – those things give me hope that I am different and can live out of that different foundation.
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Holy tension is what God has put in every human being in order that every human being has the motivation to pursue his/her awareness and curiosity about God. The conflict comes in between our sinful nature and enjoyment of it, and our concept of a perfect and holy being who we cannot please as we are. The New Covenant makes it possible for us to face this conflict and shows how to overcome our obstacles (self and the devil). The New Covenant makes us “NEW”.
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Holy tension is when we become aware of who we long to be as well as who we find ourselves being. When these longings collide, we recognize that unless Jesus’s grace enables us, we can never please Him. The New Covenant power helps us live rightly.