We live in a world filled with unclear messages. It would be good to gain some clarity when the message is unclear. The undisputed champion of muddled messages is Yogi Berra, Baseball Hall of Famer and former manager of the NY Yankees. Who at one point or another is quoted as having said: - It ain’t over ‘til its over
- Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical.
- Nobody goes there anymore; it’s too crowded.
- You got to be careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.
- And there’s the time that a lady said to him, “Good afternoon, Mr. Berra. My, you look mighty cool today.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Yogi replied. “You don’t look so hot yourself.”
Sometimes things that get said are rather confusing, aren’t they? But our confusion doesn’t always stem from what someone says.
Sometimes we become confused simply because of our busy schedules and inadequate communication.
Take for example the story of a photographer for a national magazine who was assigned to get photos of a great forest fire. Wanting to take some aerial pictures, he asked his home office to hire a plane. They made the arrangements & told him to go at once to a nearby airport, where the plane would be waiting for him. When he arrived at the airport, there was a plane warming up by the runway. He jumped in with his equipment and yelled, “Let’s go! Let’s go!” The pilot swung the plane into the wind & they were soon in the air.
“Fly over the north side of the fire,” yelled the photographer, “and make 3 or 4 low level passes.”
“Why?” asked the pilot.
“Because I’m going to take pictures,” cried the photographer. “I’m a photographer and that’s we do!”
After a pause the pilot said, “You mean you’re not the flight instructor?”
We live in a time when our television screens are filled with competing political advertisements and disagreements about the economy and healthcare. Add to that competing and conflicting messages about deodorant, laundry detergent, and the best prices on groceries, we can be left to wonder – “Just what do we know for sure?”
In this day and age, sometimes it is difficult to know what is true and what is false. Surely there are some things we can count on, some things we can know for sure. Leads me to ask, when it comes to faith what do we know for sure?
The great preacher, John Wesley, once said, “When I was young I was sure of everything. But after a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half so sure of most things as I was before. And at present, I am hardly sure of anything except what God has revealed to me.”
First of all, like John Wesley, we can be sure when God has spoken. The Bible never speaks with timidity. The Bible never says. "It could be this," or "It could be that." In the Bible, God speaks with certainty. We see in our world the uncertainty of so many voices clamoring for our attention. We need to learn to trust this consistent and true voice.
God wants us to be confident, to know some things for sure, and that’s the reason the Bible speaks with such certainty. Uncertainty leads to destruction, but certainty leads to confidence and courage. John wanted for those with faith to also have certainty and confidence. John had experienced Jesus first hand and wanted to share the certainty that he had with others.
I John 1:5 God is light
In a world filled with darkness, God illuminates everything. The dark is dark because of the light. When all is focused on the darkness – the news, the conversation, the fear, the worry, we need to remember that God is light and that is certain. And we who know the light need not fear the dark.
I John 4:7-10,16b God is love
In a world that is all too often cold and heartless, God brings love and warmth. The world is not in need of a little love. The world needs a whole lot of love. In our lives we each long to know the kind of love that is unconditional. God offers that love. God loves you as you are. God loves you so much He gave His Son’s life for you.
I John 5:11-13 God is life
We are all appointed a time to be born and a time to die. There is nothing of this world that you will take into the next. God is life and brings life. God promises life eternal to those that will believe. That is certain.
In those moments when we search for meaning or when we lack confidence . . .
or When we struggle to find anything that is certain
or When life makes no sense
or When the world is dark and lonely
or When the news isn’t good
or When the world is cold and heartless
or when friends disappear
or when life seems fragile
or when the answers are hard to find
or when nothing seems to make sense,
We must remember these certain truths: God is light. God is Love. God is Life
John was certain of these things. He had walked with Jesus and he was still confident years later. This letter was his testimony to that which he was confident. That which he knew for sure . . . God is light. God is Love. God is Life
What do you know for sure?
Only you can decide what you will believe. Maybe you’re already confident in that which you believe.
Or maybe you are still trying to figure out this whole faith thing . . .
Maybe you are still searching.
For those that seek . . . Jesus offers light, offers love, and He offers life.
Like John of that I am confident.
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