Thursday, May 24, 2018

BOB Good morning! This is Bob Peden of Central a United Methodist Community in downtown Meridian. I was singing in an Easter choir once, and a man asked me why the song said Jesus died on a tree. I was so eager to impress, I gave him a long, seminary-type answer about crucifixion methods in first-century Palestine. He listened to me go on, then said, "Oh, I just thought maybe they used the word ‘tree' because it rhymed." A lot of folks think closeness to God means knowing all the right answers. But I don't agree. I think closeness to God begins the night we toss and turn in bed, realizing we don't know it all. Look at the Bible. Some of its finest saints were long on questions: Job on his ash heap, the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray, Nicodemus grilling Jesus late into the night, even Jesus on the cross. Having spent much of my life showing off my smarts, I nearly choke on the words "I don't know." Still, I suspect those words might be the kingdom keys. What it boils down to is that God doesn't care so much whether or not we have all the right answers – Just right hearts.