For all of our bold claims about how God is in control, it is interesting how often we make excuses when we are the ones called by God to do the impossible. We encourage and sometimes even expect others to have more faith, to trust God with whatever circumstances they are facing. We remind them that God can do miracles and that God will work everything out for the good. But when it’s our turn to face the impossible it doesn’t matter how many miracles we have seen, we tend to hesitate and imagine all of the things that could go wrong….

We love sitting around the table talking about Jesus and even talking with Jesus in prayer. We sometimes feel like the disciples, members of Jesus’ inner circle, having the privilege of traveling and dining with our Savior and soaking in all of his wisdom along the way.

What happens though when Jesus gets up from the table, takes off his outer robe, and kneels down to wash our feet? If Peter is any indication, my guess is we would become very uncomfortable. It would probably feel a lot like a dinner guest getting up in our home to do the dishes. That’s not their place. They are the honored guest…

With conspiracy theories flying around on every side of every issue in our contemporary culture, Pilate’s question, “What is Truth?” is as poignant now as it ever was. We rightly encourage people to “speak their truth” by honestly sharing their experience and perspective, especially when their stories have been sidelined, ignored and marginalized for so long. On the other side, those in power tend to fear such stories and do whatever they can to undermine their credibility. In a world where everyone’s version of the truth is contradictory to someone else’s version of the truth, it would seem the idea of absolute or objective truth has gone the way of the dinosaur. Or perhaps truth is a more mythic creature like the unicorn that never really existed at all except in our own minds.

And yet Jesus is clear. “I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life” (John 14:6). “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32)…

…“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds with a summation of the law of Moses and what has become known as “the greatest commandment”, to love God and to love your neighbor. It’s not nearly as complicated as we so often make it, but the lawyer is not fully satisfied. He wants to read the fine print on the contract to make sure certain this promise of eternal life is guaranteed. Like any good researcher, he wants Jesus to more clearly define his terms and so he asks, “Who is my neighbor?”

The implication here is that the man assumes there are some people who don’t fall under the “neighbor” umbrella…

… Wonder and fear begin with the same question… “What if?” Wonder comes when our what-if’s consider the possibilities. What if there is something great at the end of this highway? What if that roller coaster is really fun? What if I really like this new food? What if I am actually good at this new thing I’m going to try? We could also phrase these questions as statements of wonder. “What if this turns out great?” is like saying, “I wonder what goodness and beauty is out there for me to discover?” This is the spirit of adventure and exploration and drive that motivates a child to crawl or take their first steps, and it is the spirit that brings out the best in us throughout our lives.

Fear is also a game of “what-if?” What if something bad happens? What if something goes wrong? What if I’m not enough? Instead of wondering at the possibility of something good, we immediately turn to the possibilities of something bad. In the garden, Adam and Eve’s fear began when then asked, “What if God is holding something back from us?” or “What if God is not telling us the whole truth?” or “What if God is a liar?” Of course we don’t see such fears stated so explicitly, but these are the kind of questions that lead them to entertain the possibilities suggested by the serpent…