Person-2-Person - February, 2023

“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” – Mother Teresa

There’s a commercial on TV that’s led to a difference of opinion between my wife, Charlotte, and me. It features a jingle with a line that we hear differently. When I listen to it, I hear, “I have a choice, more than one answer.” Charlotte hears, “I have a choice, or they won’t answer.” That’s a difference I find hard to understand. Charlotte admits what she hears doesn’t make any sense but that’s what she hears and she can’t “unhear” it.

Of course, this isn’t my first experience with someone who heard or saw things differently. Years ago, I had a conversation with a young man in my home town. He attended a church where they didn’t believe in the Trinity, and he was explaining their interpretation of the nature of God. I replied that I knew someone who had expressed a similar “concept.” The young man replied indignantly, “This is not a ‘concept,’ this is the truth!”

I decided to leave well enough alone but I strongly disagreed. I’ve said countless times since then that our finite human minds simply can’t comprehend an infinite God. If we think we can grasp or have grasped absolute truth, we’re kidding ourselves (Isa. 55:8-9). 1 Corinthians 13 is known as “the love chapter” but for me the most important part might be verse 12: “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known.” (Christian Standard Bible). As far as I’m concerned, anyone who says, “The meaning of the Bible is plain” has never studied it seriously.

One quick example of the Bible’s occasional ambiguity is in John 18. In verse 36, as Pilate questions him, Jesus says, “‘My kingdom is not of this world,’” (18:36a CSB). Pilate replies, “‘You are a king then?’” (37a CSB). But in the New International Version, Pilate exclaims, “‘You are a king, then!’” One is a question, the other is an exclamation, a statement. If you have a background in drama or reading aloud, try it both ways. Notice the difference in inflection. The majority of English translations I’ve seen render it as a question but not all. Personally, I think Pilate would have been dubious about Jesus’ claim of having a kingdom, so a question mark would be more appropriate. Just because it’s “obvious” to me, though, that doesn’t mean it’s “obvious” to someone else. Further, if we don’t know whether one simple sentence was a question or a statement, unfortunately that means there are probably plenty of other things we don’t know or understand.

Since we can’t always be certain what Scripture means, we can only do our best, according to the resources we have. Those of us who are Methodists can use the Wesleyan Quadrilateral of Scripture, tradition, reason and experience to seek to discern God’s will but we can never discover the whole truth or the entire nature of God. Because of this, we need to retain a degree of humility and pray that the Holy Spirit will give us “the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor. 2:13). While it’s not original to United Methodists, our Book of Discipline uses the phrase, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, charity.”

Paul urged the Christians in Rome “. . . don’t argue about disputed matters.” (Rom. 14:1b CSB). The King James Version uses the expression “doubtful disputations.” It’s true that “‘. . . whoever is not against us is for us.’” (Mark 9:40 CSB). Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. There are those—including other believers—who are opposed to what we believe. It helps to remember and understand that others are pursuing the truth too, that none of us have found it, and that their conclusions might not be the same as ours. At the same time, though, we can’t compromise what we believe: about God, about Jesus, or about God’s will.

When we look at Jesus, we can say, “You are a king?” or “You are a king!” There’s also a third option: We can say, “You are my king!” If we genuinely wish to express the truth that Christ reins as king of our lives, we can do it by loving others. “The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:8 CSB). The same applies to us. How we think of Jesus, what we believe in our hearts, the place Jesus holds, will show in our lives and in the way we deal with others. If he is truly king of our lives, we’ll treat our neighbors as he would. We’ll approach others with love and humility (Phil. 2:1-8) and show God’s love.