January 28, 2008

"No" means "no"

So often I feel compelled to push my point of view. I think, "surely others would see the wisdom in my way of thinking, I must have simply not stated my position clearly enough." In other words: "No one could possibly actually have a legitimate disagreement with me."

What lies behind this way of thinking, is probably a lack of trust in God's sovereign control of everything. If I truly trust God's working in all matters, I will state my case as clearly as I can, hoping that others will agree and will put into practice the things I think should be done. But when I hear the word "no," I will accept that answer and move on.

Those of you with children probably realize already that this is a lesson we regularly try to teach our children—usually a verbal lesson though; teaching by example can be much too hard.

Acts 21:12-14 When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, "Let the will of the Lord be done."

Apparently, these early Christians did not have as much of a problem with this as I do. After trying to persuade Paul to go somewhere other than Jerusalem, they accepted his answer and stopped trying to dissuade him.

Maybe someday I'll learn to be this accepting of God's will.

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