Happy Monday!
I’m absolutely sure about today’s word-of-the-week…
UNCERTAINTY
We need to embrace uncertainty.
We want our answers in neat little packages. Most of the time, truth can’t be reduced to a 10-word slogan. Real solutions can’t be captured in 30-second sound bites.
As followers of Jesus, of course we believe in certain absolute truths. We should state those clearly, but we also know there’s a great deal of mystery. God asks us to dream and wonder. Rather than living in a predictable box, He challenges us to think and explore and consider big ideas.
Big ideas involve nuance. They invite questions, investigation, and discussion aimed at learning and growth. Authentic learning is long-term and often painful, but the alternative is hiding from truth behind safe, comfortable platitudes. Fear invites us to grab the simplistic answer, but tough questions rarely come with sound-bite answers that actually work.
Jesus had a lot of time on Earth. He could have dictated a list of clear answers to all of the important questions. Might have been easier, for sure.
Instead, He lived a life of relationships, sacrifice, and love. Then He said, “Follow Me.”
Following Jesus means listening, wondering, seeking. Once we believe we’ve discovered easy answers, or begin following leaders who offer them, we’ve likely wandered off the path.
We’d like our future to be predictable. It isn’t.
We’d like to change someone else. We can’t.
We’d like to know why. We don’t.
We’d like God to validate our notion of justice. He won’t.
God’s in control. THAT’S the assurance upon which we rely.
It’s Monday. Perhaps this is a good day to stop trying to manage a steering wheel we never controlled anyway.
Have a great week!