Friday, October 26, 2007
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It used to be a lot simpler. These days, it can really be embarrassing - helping your kids with their homework, that is. First of all, most of us have forgotten more than we remember from school - you know, if you don't use it, you lose it. Second of all, they're studying things we probably have no clue about! And they're learning things a lot sooner than we did. So here comes Junior, looking for answers. You can't just tell him you don't know - you're a parent! You're supposed to know everything, right? So you find some diversion - a sudden coughing seizure, a call you forgot to make, the business trip you forgot to leave for. I found - especially in some areas of learning like science or the humanities - you don't need to know all the answers. You do need to own a set of encyclopedias. No, you may not have the answers, but you have the source of the answers!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "What to Say When You Don't Have the Answer."
There are a lot of spiritually seeking people who want some answers. And when someone tells them about the difference Jesus Christ can make in their lives, they have questions. You may be one of those seekers and you know that Jesus has to be a serious option for anyone with an honestly seeking heart. But you do need some answers.
Or maybe you're someone who belongs to Jesus. You want people you care about to experience the love and the power and the peace you have, but you're afraid of their questions. Maybe you've been thrown by their questions. You know Jesus and what He can do, but you don't know the answers to their questions. That's not a reason to retreat. Like a parent going to the encyclopedias for the answers he doesn't have, you may not know the answers, but you have the source of the answers. The Bible says of Jesus: "Christ (is) the power of God and the wisdom of God" ( 1 Corinthians 1:24). My job isn't to have all the answers. It's to point people to the One who does have all the answers. Who is all the answers!
The great Apostle Paul was a scholar trained in the finest education of his day; a writer who could craft a case that it was hard to refute. But in our word for today from the Word of God, this man who knew a lot of answers tells us all we really need to know. In 1 Corinthians 2:2, he says, "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." For all he knew, he just kept pointing people to Jesus and to the cross where He died for them.
If you're a "seeker," I just want to take you to that cross where Jesus died for you. That's what you have to decide about. If you're a "sharer" of what Jesus did, I just want to take you to that cross where Jesus died for the person you're talking to. That's what you have to tell them. I appreciated what Mel Gibson did in "The Passion of the Christ." He stripped away 2,000 years of Christianity and took us back to what it's all about; not creeds, not churches, not Christians - just the Son of God, pouring out His life on a cross for you.
I don't have all the answers for the poverty and suffering in the world, but I have a Savior who entered into that suffering when He came here, who lived as a poor man, who died to defeat the ultimate generator of human suffering - human sin. It's all about Jesus. I don't have all the answers about why someone you love died. I only know that God knows the feeling - He watched His Son murdered on a cross. It's all about Jesus. I can't explain many of the hypocrisies and the horrible things done in Christ's name, but I know Jesus said, "Follow me," not "Follow My followers." It's all about Jesus.
That's why you can dare to tell people about Him, even if there are many answers you don't know, because it's all about pointing them to Jesus. And that's why I challenge you to end your long search for meaning and for God by surrendering your life to one person - Jesus Christ, who died for you, who rose from the dead to give you life that would never end. It's all about Jesus. And that's what Judgment Day will be all about - what you did with Jesus.
If you've never put your trust in Him to be your spiritual rescuer from your sin, let this be the day you say, "Jesus, I'm Yours." I'd like to help, if you want, by sending you my little booklet about beginning your personal relationship with Him. It's called Yours For Life. Just let me know you want it. You can let me know at our website, yoursforlife.net or by calling toll-free, 877-741-1200.
We'll never have all the answers. But we can have the One who has all the answers. Who is the answer. The most important choice of your life comes down to four words: It's all about Jesus.