Memories mystify me sometimes. I do not remember what I need to remember yet do remember silly incidents of my childhood. I was about five when mom must have baked up something I really liked. When invited to go to my friend’s house to play, I recall telling his mother what I remembered to be mom’s recipe for whatever it was I thought had been so tasty. I remembered his mom asked me if I was sure those were the correct ingredients and I confidently said what I told her was correct. However, as years passed and that memory repeatedly came to mind, I only hoped to God that boy’s mother never tried that recipe. It probably would have made that family sick! Like a beacon that memory has reminded me that what I may be convinced is so right may only be my foolish, prideful thinking.
Confidence is invaluable; but it does not prove we got it all right. Eugene Peterson paraphrased, Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence. (1 Corinthians 10:12, MSG) Paul wrote My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me (1 Corinthians 4:4, NIV).
I have been intrigued with Jesus’ encounter with a rich young man in some position of authority in Matthew 19. Yes, he had it all but also had a deep reverence for God as shown in how well versed he was in what the Bible said. He was enough of a seeker of truth to come to ask Jesus, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16, NLT2). When Jesus told him to keep the big ten commandments, he probed to learn more. After Jesus listed a few of them the man responded with confidence, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments, …what else must I do?” (Matthew 19:20, NLT2). We may not be young, rich and in authority as this guy but whether we say it or not, I suspect most seasoned believers can identify with how this man was thinking about his spiritual life. In fact, far too many of us have even stopped trying to learn anything more about God or what His word says to us. We just want someone to confirm what we already pretty much know and practice as a Christian. But does that confidence mean we are totally correct? Are we more dependent on our self-confidence than God-confidence as Peterson wrote?
Jesus recognized this guy had his life together so He touched his most sensitive spiritual nerve by saying to him, “If you want to be perfect [complete], go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Matthew 19:21, NLT2). I must hand it to the guy for not proudly blowing Jesus’ statement off since that is what hardened Christians tend to do. The man took Jesus’ words to heart and knew Jesus had called him out to go all-in and follow Him. With all the air in his confidence balloon suddenly gone and now sucking for air, in deep sorrow he made a simple choice, an unfortunate one yet simple. He chose to continue to trust in what he had instead of taking a risk to get serious about his faith journey with God and go all-in.
Your life is the sum of the responses you have made towards God. Once God makes Himself known to you, what you do next is your decision. Your reaction reflects what you actually believe about Him. Whenever the Lord whispers to you, you can expect it will require some sort of adjustment in how you think, behave and otherwise live your life. What adjustments has He asked you to make? It is not too late to go back to when He called you out and be reconciled with Him. Yes, it will be a costly challenge, but it will be worth it at the end of the day.