I WOULD HAVE FEWER problems if I did not trust my opinions when I should trust the truth. But, some opinions, like old friends, have been around a long time.
I began collecting opinions at about two years old, many of which I adopted from my parents. And when my parents didn’t share the same opinion, I had to use my best thinking to determine what was right and wrong.
It was only after I met Jesus that I began to rely on his opinions because he claimed everything he said was the truth. The truth never changes depending on circumstances, and better yet, Jesus said the truth would set me free. John 8:32
But, as I have mentioned, when Jesus visited me nearly three decades ago, he did not take my brain with him when he disappeared from my pink sofa. The responsibility of sorting out my opinions from the truth seemed to fall on my shoulders.
Eighteen years later, with more than thirty-five semesters of formal Bible study behind me, I thought every wrong opinion in “The Gospel According to Me” was out of my brain. Furthermore, I thought I knew God so well that I had reduced following Jesus to a basic formula, which I was happy to share with anyone interested:
Know Jesus, know peace. No Jesus, no peace.
For eighteen years this basic formula helped me handle every situation I faced. The moment I realized I was in trouble, I turned to my Bible so I could know the way to go. However, while in my desert and wilderness experience, God upset my formula.
Of course, hindsight is twenty-twenty, and I did not know eleven years ago what I know today. I had to learn that I could take 35,000 semesters of Bible study and still not know the truth.
In the beginning of this new journey, I thought God changed, but the Bible says he never changes. Oh, I kicked and screamed and begged and pleaded that he would get back into the little box in which I needed him to be in so my formula would prove true. I accused him of falling down on his job, and then I tried to cajole him by pointing out how bad he was going to look among my circle of influence if he didn’t change my circumstances.
I’m the good and faithful church lady and you don’t want me to fail. Just consider your own reputation Lord. How can I tell people to trust you if I obviously cannot? I’m reading my Bible so why don’t I have peace?
Here’s what I know.
The job of sorting out the opinions from the truth never fell on my shoulders. Jesus never said, “As soon as you figure out the truth, you can follow me.” Jesus said he is the truth, and I will know the truth if I follow him.
He never asked me to walk beside him after I knew my Bible. Furthermore, he never said, “Together, we will clean up your life and then you can take over.”
No, it was just my opinion that Jesus would grow me up and push me out of the nest like my parents did, leaving me to my own best thinking about where I would go. It was my opinion that Jesus and I are a team, and his job was to perform miracles when I couldn’t.
They’re probably showing YouTube videos of me in heaven for amusement, and rightly so, because I wrestled with the Lord in vain.
How eye-opening it has been to see that when push comes to shove, I will fight the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and run back to my opinions. Opinions I obviously trust more than I trust Jesus. Opinions that say I know the way, I know the truth, I know the life, and Jesus should follow me.
This is the way, Lord. Are you going to follow me or not? What, you don’t trust where I’ll lead after all the years?
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”—Matthew 16:24
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.—Romans 5:8 (ESV)
Hebrews 13:8,James 1:17,Malachi 3:6, John 6:27,Revelation 22:13
As always, it is my intent and hope that my words may encourage you wherever you are in your journey.
If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.--Jesus (Mark 4:23)
Please share your thoughts in the comments below or go to the group tab above to share your own experience. It only takes a minute of your time to register (and you can be anonymous), and your words may help others.
