This seems doubly so for Christians. It seems you're labeled as a second-rate Christian if you don't have all your theological ducks in a row. You better be able to whip out some Greek at a moment's notice if you want to persuade others that they should believe the same things you do.
There's a lot of people out there with books and soapboxes who are all too eager to tell you that they have all the answers and you just need to go along with everything they're telling you. They've figured it out so you don't have to. They have degrees and titles that should prove that they are much more qualified to decide what is true than you will ever be.
Christianity has become a race to have all the answers. He who can quote some obscure 9th century theologian has the last word. If you can't prove your point with at least 37 verses to back you up, you probably shouldn't say anything at all.
But it's kind of funny. You see, there were a whole bunch of guys who knew a ton of theology when Jesus was around. They knew so much about God that when God himself showed up in front of them . . . they didn't recognize him at all. Actually, his identity was so foreign that they hated him.
How is that? How is it that those people who knew so much stuff about God could be so wrong about who he was? Is it possible that we can get so focused on having all the answers, on memorizing all the rules, on being able to argue everyone else under the table, that we miss God himself in the midst of it?
What was Jesus's invitation again? Was it, "Come and study me?" Was it "Learn my teachings so you can teach others?" He invited people to follow him. He gathered a group of disciples around him to walk with him through life.Do you ever stop to think why Jesus had disciples? If it was just so his message would be spread, why not just write a book? If knowledge was the point, that seems like the logical step.
But he surrounded himself with plain, ordinary people. And he told them that because they saw him, they saw the Father. He didn't come to reveal theology, he came to reveal God. Those who knew a lot about God missed him because they missed the point. It was never knowing about him. It was always about knowing him
And if having all the answers and getting everyone to agree with you was so important, what the heck was Jesus doing? People would ask him questions and he would give them answers that were carefully crafted to confound them. He spoke in parables that people didn't understand. He said things that caused the crowds to say "This is a hard teaching" and then leave him.
Jesus didn't find his value in proving to others that he knew a lot. In fact, he didn't find his value in anything he did or said. John the Baptist baptized Jesus before he had done anything we would call "ministry". Yet his Father could not resist proclaiming “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
So what does that all mean? I think it means we get to relax. We get to stop stressing and just enjoy the unfolding of Father's affection and grace. We can sink into the reality of who God is, our eyes opening up to a greater revelation of him. We no longer have to be governed by the pressure of knowing everything, we are simply invited to know the One who loves us more than anything we can imagine.
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