I'd like to communicate how our relationship with God, our Father, is different than our relationship with the World. One way to do this is by showing how a "law of nature" is different than a "judicial law". A "law of nature" is not law because a man mandates a system to "need to" operate as it does, but rather because a man observes a system to operate as it does, and in as much as it operates so "consistently," it is categorized as a "law." Similarly, what we hear communicated through scripture is how our relationship with God, and actions which proceed from such, is consistent with such a relationship. Conversely, man determines how a relationship "ought" or "need" to operate, and we dictate that a relationship is "contingent" upon a dependent. The "law of gravity" and "judicial law" displays such a difference.
When we speak of the consistency of the "law of gravity," we are merely concluding from observation that, when a body of mass is within the sphere of influence of another body of mass, there consistently is an attraction which results. It can't be spoken of accurately as something which "needs" to be so, but as something which "is" so (or is seen/experienced to be so). When we speak of the contingency of a "judicial law," we are defining how a relationship will operate, because we mandate it to be so.
Our actions will be Christ-like when we come into relationship with God, not because they "need" to be so in order to be in relationship with God, but rather, because that "will" be so when in relationship with God. Similarly, when an apple is within the context of our nature, it will experience gravity, not because it "needs" to in order to be body of mass, but because it "will" do so when it is within our environment.
Our right standing with God is not contingent upon our right actions with those of the world, but rather, our right actions with those of the world are consistent with our right standing with God. If you love God, you will love your brothers. You need not love your brothers in order for God to love you, but rather, your love for your brothers will be expressed when you are, in fact, loving God.
This litmus test is not given for us to judge our brothers' relationships by, but to discern our own relationship according to.
