Just Thinking

I am right. Let's just get that straight right from the beginning. When it comes to Eschatology, I'm right. When it comes to the gifts of the Spirit, I'm right. When it comes to the role of women in ministry, I'm right. When it comes to a "style" of "worship"...whatever that is, I'm right.

Ok, now that we have that straight, who cares. Now, I'm not de-valuing the importance of knowing doctrine and Theology. However, it seems to me that much of my time as a seminary graduate has been spent trying to prove myself right to myself and to others. Whenever I am able to answer someone correctly or make a point that "stumps" them, I feel good about myself...hmmm, that is what Jesus taught us anyway, wasn't it? Blessed are those who are right, for they will know all of the answers, and the answers will set them free.

As of now, I am relinquishing my right to be right.

I was reading a selection from Michael Card's book, A Sacred Sorrow. A book in which he encourages followers of the Christ to lament because lament is a language of worship. One of the examples he uses is that of Job. In the section I was reading this morning, he poses a question where he asks, "who was right." Job? Elihu? Then he goes on to say that being right really isn't the issue. Job's trials were not about being right. They were about being obedient. That's the issue, and I agree with him. I mean, what if I get all of the "answers" correct, but I am disobedient. Does it really matter?

It reminds me of a conversation I was having with a wonderful friend of mine, a man who has constantly challenged me to pursue Jesus. He said to me one time, "The bible is not my final authority." My first thought was HERESY! What do you mean? How can you be a follower of Jesus and not follow the bible as your final authority. As we continued to dialogue, he explained himself, saying that Jesus was his final authority and that the bible revealed who Jesus was...that Jesus is the Word. This subtle distinction may not seem apparent to you as it didn't to me initially either. But, in our Protestant society, we have elevated the bible to a position of diety. We worship what it says, not who it draws us to.

The bible reveals the Word. It is not the Word. Jesus is not a book. He is a person. He is God. He is a redeemer. He is a giver of the Spirit who reveals the Truth.

So, what do these two issues have to do with one another...the issue of being right and the issue of the bible?

I want to learn how to be obedient to the Father as Jesus was. I want to walk in the Truth. I don't just want to have some answers from a book.

If my faith is only a series of RIGHT answers, then it is only a game show. However, if my faith is evidenced by obedience...faith with works...then it is a Way of Life where I pursue the Truth. Jesus.