[2]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nGalileo, the early astronomer, put forward the theory that the earth moved around the sun, and was threatened with torture, because that was not the position of the holy church. They believed that it contradicted a certain Scripture and he would need to recant. He caved, and took back his \u201cheretical\u201d belief in the face of the cruel pain that would otherwise be inflicted. But in hindsight, he was right. It was just that at that time there was no culture of examining an idea or an issue. That had been lost a thousand years before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hebrew culture was about asking questions. They seemed to be inspired by questions, not afraid of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our western Christian culture, though having emerged from the time of witch-hunts and burning heretics at the stake, still at times seems to be afraid of questions. A curious mind is still somehow regarded with suspicion, and yet history has told us that if the many researchers and scientists (who were often men and women of faith) hadn\u2019t been curious and asked questions, then new understanding would not have been gained, and we would still live in the dark ages. There seems to be a residual fear that if we don\u2019t hold to a traditional position, we are somehow a heretic. Almost as if all that is to be known is now known, and there is nothing more to be gained by further investigation. With it comes this idea that I need to have a position, and I need to be right\u2014I have to know the truth or that won\u2019t look good for the Gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember, the gospel of Christ is not a political campaign, where we canvas for votes, so that people will vote for Jesus, based on what our policies are. We have seen enough political grandstanding to last a long time. Candidates who stand up and take a position, and have their crowd cheer loudly, while busily slandering the candidate who takes the opposite position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is this how Christ asked us to win the lost?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are afraid of questions, but why? Why are we afraid of not knowing it all\u2014of not having all the answers? After all, it is not possible for anyone to know it all. Not the most studied scientist or philosopher, not the man they say is the smartest man who ever lived, not the most educated theological professor. Not you, not me. No one can possibly know it all. If you are not convinced, I challenge you to a small exercise. It will only take a few minutes. Pop this book down and go to a computer, and put in your search engine, night sky over Uluru, time lapse. <\/em> A number of short videos will pop up. Take a couple of minutes to watch and note the immensity of the night sky as it moves above us. Take into consideration that what has been filmed is all we can see with the naked eye\u2014we have no concept of how far it extends beyond what we can see. How can any one of us possibly know all there is to know. We are finite\u2014limited. How can we understand the infinite? I have earned a double degree, and yet I am aware that I hardly know anything. That piece of paper from the university means very little when you consider the heavens, when you consider time and what might be outside of time, when you consider life and existence, when you consider God.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOnce you come to a place where you can accept that you don\u2019t know everything, and that you will never know everything, and that is OK, then you can relax. We can all relax and not be so quick to defend an idea, a position, or tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s take a look at Scripture:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Isaiah 55:8-10 (NIV) \u2018\u201cFor my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,\u201d declares the LORD. \u201cAs the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.\u201d\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nWhen it comes down to it, in life we all have opinions and positions, and sometimes we do hotly defend those positions. It is called being dogmatic. But did God ever ask us to make sure we knew everything, and to make sure that we were always right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Or did He just ask us to seek Him?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Psalm 105:3-4 \u2018…let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nRemember, when it comes to seeking truth, truth is not a what. Truth is a who. Jesus said: \u2018I am the Way, and the Truth and the Life…\u2019 <\/em>John 14:6 (NIV)<\/p>\n\n\n\nOn my best day of putting together a sermon or an inspirational chapter in a book, I know there is truth in it, but as to me being the fount of all knowledge and wisdom \u2026 well that would be barking up the wrong tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am forever grateful that while I speak and write and hope to encourage, that God is gracious. He doesn\u2019t sit up in heaven and fume about all the things I don\u2019t have right, or the things I\u2019ve said that I have not understood correctly. He is pleased when we seek Him and love Him. Just as when a small child draws a stick picture of mummy and daddy, and writes in messy writing, \u2018I love you\u2019, the parent doesn\u2019t punish the child because the drawing doesn\u2019t look as it should if a master painter were to have done the portrait. The parent just loves being loved, even if the picture looks ridiculous. This is what God\u2019s love, grace and mercy is about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If in my life I did everything according to the rules (as I understand them), never put a foot wrong, obeyed every moral code and was in a place you could not fault me, I would be no closer to salvation or pleasing God. That is not how salvation works, and it is not how we please God. My best still only comes up as filthy rags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Isaiah 64:6 (NIV) \u2018...How then can we be saved? All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nThis concept, I daresay, may be offensive to some people who pride themselves in the fact that they are a good person. All I know is, the more I pride myself in how good I am, the worse I am in terms of being judgemental, taking a superior stance and believing myself to be better than others. It is only when I realise that I am just like everyone else in the world\u2014a sinner who is as much in need of the Grace and Mercy of God as everyone else\u2014that I can finally give up my superiority and rest in who God has made me to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Romans 3:22-24 (NLT) \u201822 <\/sup>We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n23 <\/sup>For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God\u2019s glorious standard. 24 <\/sup>Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.<\/em>\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat saves me and makes me pleasing to God is His Son, Jesus. When God looks at me, He doesn\u2019t see my inadequacies, sin and self-righteousness. What He sees is the shed blood of his Son, Jesus, having cleansed and redeemed me. This is the only way I can come before Him in right-standing, or righteousness, and it certainly isn\u2019t because of anything I\u2019ve done, no matter how good I think I am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n[1]<\/a> Spangler, A., Tverberg, L., (2009) Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith, Zondervan, USA<\/p>\n\n\n\n[2]<\/a> I have spoken of history in broad brush-strokes, coming from my own studies in history. I encourage you to look closer at the history represented here, and do your own research.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This is part one of two discussing the disconcerting problem of being addicted to being right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":510,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[20],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meredithresce.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/meredithresce.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/meredithresce.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meredithresce.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meredithresce.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=515"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/meredithresce.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":520,"href":"https:\/\/meredithresce.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515\/revisions\/520"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meredithresce.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meredithresce.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meredithresce.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meredithresce.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}