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Today when I was walking across campus I saw a student that I see very frequently on campus. He is about 6 feet tall, has glasses and a certain way that he walks, so I knew for sure it was him. However, he wasn’t looking at me so when we were about 20 feet apart I said, “what’s up, I keep bumping into you everywhere!”
He looked up at me and after another three steps I realized why he had that confused look on his face. It wasn’t who I thought it was. Feeling awkward, I scrambled for the words which barely came out as he was walking by me. I stammered something to the effect of “Uhhh…I thought you were someone else, sorry.”
It reminded me of I Corinthians 13:12 which says, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” (NKJV)
I think this verse and this situation carries within it some helpful principles for Christian living and for Christian leadership.
We can feel so certain about some things in this life, just like I was so certain that I was talking to my friend. But sometimes, even when we are really really sure about something, we end up being wrong in the end.
Don’t misunderstand me. We can know a great deal about life and we can know the most important things, and the commands and truths that God requires us to believe, and to live through a careful reading of Scripture.
Beyond that, a Christian leader should be able to see further than the crowd, and should lead decisively not with a perpetual hesitancy or uncertainty. This would be paralyzing and totally ineffective.
However, whether in respect to Christian living or Christian leadership, I think it is helpful to always remember – nobody knows everything. Nobody sees perfectly. Not even you. We see with a limited perspective, and with limited knowledge, dimly.
A friend of mine who is serving as a missionary/church planter in scotland posted this video on his blog a few days ago. It’s well worth the watch…
I hope it refocuses your perspective on the world and your life like it did mine, when I watched it.
Like it or not, if you are reading this, you’ve been entrusted with much.
Take a moment to thank God for all He has given you, and consider the responsibility that comes along with it.
A section of the Bible that I have often been confused about when reading is I John 1:26-27. It says, “I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything – and is true and is no lie, just as it has taught you – abide in him.” (ESV)
What does it mean that “you have no need that anyone should teach you?” On the surface this almost seems to advocate an extreme sort of isolationist mysticism where it is just me and the Holy Spirit, with no one teaching the believer except the Holy Spirit doing so directly. But how would that make sense with the rest of scripture?
I found some great help on this question from a commentary by Simon Kistemaker. He writes,
“Is John intimating that the anointing with the Holy Spirit makes instruction in biblical knowledge superfluous? Of course not! In the words of the Great Commission Jesus instructs the apostles (and by implication all of those who proclaim the Word) to teach learners all that Jesus has commanded (Matt. 28:20). Effective preaching of the Word, faithful teaching in Sunday school or catechism class, and daily reading of the Scriptures – all this is necessary for the spiritual growth of the Christian. Then what is John saying? The believers have no need of deceivers who try to teach false doctrine. They have the gift of the Holy Spirit who leads them in all truth.” (John 16:13) [James and I-III John, New Testament Bible Commentary, Simon J. Kistemaker, 1986. Baker Book House Company. p.285]
The Holy Spirit plays a huge role in teaching us, but he operates through the teaching, and preaching of Scripture. Taken in context, we can better understand that the “anyone” whose teaching we have “no need” of are those who teach false doctrine.
”Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-6)
In a ministry strategic planning meeting today our Pastor, Ron Miller, shared this verse. As he shared, this verse hit me as though I had never heard it before with fresh perspective on how God uses even the painful experiences that we go through to then minister to the pain of others.
Do You Care About Truth?
September 16, 2008 in Cultural Commentary, Reflections, Theology | Leave a comment
There are many people today who are skeptical toward the notion of absolute truth. They say things like, “that’s true for you, but not for me.” This attitude and perspective is generally called relativism.
This attitude is not always inappropriate. There definitely are opinions which are relative to personal preferences and experiences. For example, someone may ask “what is the best movie of all time”. There would be almost as many opinions on this as there are people answering the question. Some might say Gladiator, others might say Casablanca. Each person may feel equally strong about their choice for Best Movie of All Time, but at the end of the day, everyone’s choice is a matter of personal preference and opinion.
But not all questions can be reduced to mere personal preference. For example, if I were to ask some friends what year Napoleon Bonaparte was born, there would likely be multiple answers given by friends who genuinely wanted to help. (As well as many blank stares.) However, whether or not any of my friends know the truth with certainty there was a year that Napoleon was born and there were many years that he was not born. There is truth. It is not merely a matter of preference.
The notion of relativism is apparent in virtually every area modern society, but is most pronounced and most tragic when it comes to matters of eternal significance. There are some questions which ultimately don’t really matter, and then there are other questions which we can’t afford to blow off; There are questions that we can’t afford to get wrong.
Questions like “Who is God?”, “Who was Jesus?”, “What is the meaning of life?” should be seriously investigated and considered. They have answers and these answers have huge implications into how we live our lives.
It’s interesting though, that while a relativistic view of truth is pronounced in our time, it is not an invention of the modern world. Over 2000 years ago it was the attitude of Pontius Pilate expressed in his conversation with Jesus, recorded in John 18:37-39 “Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world— to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
Like Pilate, many today scoff at the proposition of truth.
What about you? Have you embraced the truth in the person of Jesus? When some area of the truth of God’s Word challenges you do you blow it off? Or do you humbly receive it and change?