You are doomed to make choices. This is life’s greatest paradox. — Wayne Dyer
The problem with questions is that sometimes they lead to more questions. That’s where I found myself while reading Bruce McNicol’s book, TrueFaced. I do a lot of reading, but his questions stopped me in my tracks:
Am I trying to please God, or am I trusting God?
Quite frankly, I didn’t like the idea of having to choose between these two. So I connected with my friend, Dr. Ramesh Richard from Dallas Seminary. “Ramesh, have you read through TrueFaced? (Of course, he’d read it; he’s read everything.) I asked him what he thought. He said, “You know I really like the concept. I would probably word it a little differently, but I think Bruce’s wording is completely clear and accurate.” Rats. I was still on the hook to figure this thing out. The question seemed to be boiling down to this:
- I can choose to trust in myself, and in my own efforts in order to earn God’s pleasure.
- I can choose to trust in Christ, allowing Him to live His life through me, to enable me to live a life that is pleasing to God.
At first, it seemed like a very subtle difference. Maybe this was all just a little word game? But the more I thought about it, the more the significance of this choice impacted me.
- The question revealed what I believed about my own abilities outside of Christ.
- The question revealed my true beliefs about God’s grace and mercy.
- The question revealed a lot about the natural tendency all humans have towards self-righteousness.
- The question revealed what I believed about God, and how I thought He saw me in Christ.
How would I answer the question? How would you answer the question?
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Test me and know my anxious thoughts.See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)