There is the story of a fish family in which the mother advised her three babies concerning the three alternatives of life. First, she said, "Do not swim in the deep." Second, "Do not swim in the shallow water." Third, "Swim just right." But two of her babies reasoned, "Water is water and every fish must swim, so why bother about the particulars?"

There are three alternatives in our lives. Shall we live in the neutral, the broad, or the balance? To be neutral in the issues of life will not do. Jesus said, "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad? (Matt. 12:30). On the other hand, to be broad, all-inclusive, of everything and everybody, without discrimination, will not do either. For Jesus also said, "No man can serve two masters: for he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other" (Matt. 6:24a). There are waters to live and survive in—waters safe, in a balanced way—and we urgently need, in this twentieth century, to be particular about this matter of balance.

This balance is sought by the Bible believers not in the realm of personality, for who would be the criterion of such a measurement among men? This balance is not found in intellect or wealth or heredity or environment or personal circumstance. A balanced Christian life is only found when man is in his proper place at the Cross of Calvary—living an uncompromising (not neutral) life, and a separated (not broad) life, with definite boundaries. The balance, in reality, is not within man himself but rather in that place of balance at the Cross.

To avoid the shallow waters of neutrality, the Christian takes a stand right in the middle of the biblical fundamentals, the biblical essentials of the eternal Word of God. We are not talking about the usual "middle-of-the-roader"; he is too broad. To avoid the deep waters of universal appeal and undefined loves, the Christian must abide in the disciplines and dedications of a truly separated life. We dare not lose our balance, on the one hand, by omitting the true balm of biblical compassion for all men, nor, on the other hand, lose our balance by omitting the urgencies of our becoming involved in a contemporary, universal world to all men. However, we must maintain our balance and integrity by witnessing and practicing the unschizophrenic oneness of being genuine, through and through. You will recall, Ephraim was "a cake not turned" (Hosea 7:8b); but, the Shulamite possessed all her teeth, the upper balanced with the lower, clean and white (Song of Sol. 4:2, 6:6); and, the Four Living Creatures were "full of eyes before and behind" (Rev. 4:6). What a balance!

Someone might say, "to be in Christendom is to be a Christian, why bother with the particulars and be technical?" The answer to that is this. It takes biblical particulars to be biblically balanced.