For Jesus Christ was not “yes” and “no” but in him it has always been “yes”!
2 Corinthians 1:19
Sitting on the old man pews at Wally World the other day I had this weird thought: after all my groceries and other stuff had paraded down the conveyor belt, I swiped my credit card on the payment box and received that familiar but curious question: “Your total is $96.23, is that OK?” Answer options include: “Yes” and “No.”
Just as I was about to mechanically enter “Yes,” I thought, “Why am I being such an unthinking conformist? Suppose I disagree with this total? Suppose I break away from the pack, take the road less traveled, challenge the system, make a statement of protest and push the “No” button?!!!”
So I asked the check-out person, “Just out of curiosity, what happens if I push the “No” button? Emphatically, she said “If you do, I will have to ring up your order all over again while you and the five people behind you wait!”
I pushed the “Yes” button.
Isn’t that the way it is in church sometimes? Isn’t it easier to swallow your misgivings about Christianity rather than clog the system with uncomfortable questions? Fortunately you have landed in the United Methodist Church, where no matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, we welcome you …and your questions.
Does that make us the “Uncertain Methodist Church?” I’m uncertain about that, but certainty is certainly not what it’s all about. Instead, it’s all about finding and giving a full, resounding “yes” to the One who has already said “yes” to you and me.
Patient God, may your “yes” to us override our doubts about you and overwhelm us with gratitude and joy, in and through Jesus. Amen.
Grace and Peace
Steve
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