I value straightforward answers. Whenever I am around people who are hard to pin down, their partial and deflective answers are like a puddle of mercury moving around without clear definition avoiding answers that would offer clarity about what they believe. Their answers continually change shape never really answering a question leaving the inquirer wondering what they really believe.
There are only a few absolutes in a life of faith. Most of those absolutes are about the nature of God, our salvation in Christ, and those things specifically spelled out in Scripture that even a casual reader first-time reader would realize as something unchangeable and transferrable across time.
The phrase, “In the essentials unity, in the non-essentials liberty, in all things love” has been circulating in the Church for centuries. While not Scripture, it does offer us wisdom on how to prioritize our response to life. The essentials of our faith are few, but they are critical to understand if we call ourselves followers of Jesus. There is no room here for a mercurial response when questions of substance are asked with an honest inquiry.
It takes courage to answer the tough questions about life and faith with clarity. It also creates tension, the kind of tension that will challenge some of our existing relationships and may invite a wrathful response from undisciplined people.
In the world, and even for some within the Church, people are confused and being led about without a foundation of clarity regarding matters of faith and how to rightly think and live as a follower of Jesus Christ. We are told the truth will set us free. The opposite is also true, a lack of clarity about what is true and foundational to our faith keeps people living in bondage to deception never fully experiencing the kind of freedom the Lord intended. We owe it to each other to offer honest answers to the most important questions. Those answers are an act of love. They offer solid answers to the questions that are essential to our faith.
Thank you Garris. Words so true that reflect the age we are in. Blessings and Peace to all. There is true peace in belonging to Him.
Amen