Good morning! The other day I was taking Josh to a fast food restaurant that prides themselves in making sure you “have it your way.” When I pulled up to the drive-thru kiosk, I began to order from a menu that literally said – combo your way. The instructions seemed very simple: 1) Choose your entree, 2) Choose your side, and 3) Choose your drink. I thought I was doing this correctly and the person at the other end of the speaker said I could not order what I wanted.
I ended up leaving the drive-thru line so that I could park the car and go inside to place my order. When I went inside, I was able to order what I wanted with no issues.
In situations like this where I am being given such a difficult time to spend my money at an establishment for something that I want, I typically walk out and go somewhere else where the customer service is better, even if that means paying more money.
We all want what we want, and most of the time if we can’t get it from one place, we will go somewhere else. Think about kids for an example – if Mom doesn’t give them the answer they are looking for, they will go to Dad and vice versa. But this doesn’t just go away as we get older – if our friends don’t satisfy our needs, we find new ones; or if a church doesn’t play the music or preach the message we want, then we find a new one.
Recently, I was talking with someone who was going to start reading a different part of the Bible because they did not want to continue reading about a specific topic that was being addressed. After asking some discovery type questions, I came to find out that this was an area of struggle for this person. This reminded me of a story from the book of Acts.
“Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.”
Acts 24:24-25
Isn’t this what we do sometimes? We begin to feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit and then we do our best to avoid the truth and replace it with what makes us feel good. We treat the Bible like our favorite buffet – we take what we want, and then leave the rest for someone else. This is so dangerous!
Felix was a Roman governor who was familiar with the Way – which is how they referred to the Christian movement of the early church. He would bring Paul before him and allow him to speak about faith in Jesus, but when Paul’s words began to make him feel uncomfortable, he would send Paul away and would have him come back when he was ready.
The problem with this kind of mentality is, what if we are never “ready” to hear the truth of God’s Word? We will begin to develop our own “truth” and fool ourselves into thinking that we are living righteously as long as we are obedient to the parts that we are OK with. This is so twisted, but is often the reality.
If we believe the Bible is the Word of God, we have to accept ALL of it – the parts that lift us up, and the parts that point out our sin.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17
The Bible was written by human beings that were inspired by God. They did not write down their own thoughts apart from God, they wrote down what they heard from God. It provides what is necessary to ensure we are equipped for every good work. Our lives will BE TRANSFORMED so that we are able to live out our faith by putting the truths of God on full display!
This means that we will not always have things “our way.” We need to be people that live according to God’s Way – which means to live like Jesus – the Way, the Truth, and the Life!
Heavenly Father, thank You for being so patient with us as we often take time to accept Your Word as the ultimate Truth. There are things in Your Word that are difficult to hear and even more difficult to address. But You are so kind, loving, and patient with us, always looking out for what is best for us! Help us to not skip through parts of the Bible that make us feel uncomfortable, but instead open our hearts and allow You to TRANSFORM our thoughts and behaviors so that we will be ready for every good work. In Jesus Name – AMEN!
Be Transformed 