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Just Trust me – A reflection on John 14:6

Posted on by Andrew

Whenever I hear people say “Trust me”, I immediately get worried. I worry for a whole range of reasons but primarily because there is some type of the risk I am being asked to take and because someone is trying to cover or hide or mitigate that risk by taking it on themselves. It’s the worst possible thing that someone could say to me in such a situation, because the irony is, that I just don’t trust people who say “Just trust me”.

All throughout history people have said it – Leaders, politicians, academics, scientists, and economists. And even Jesus kind of said it, in perhaps one of his most famous Bible verses of all time:

“I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6

But have you ever stopped to think about how astonishing this statement is.

Jesus did not merely point the way and tell his disciples to follow it. He said I am the way. He did not merely teach the truth and say learn from me. He said I am the truth. He did not merely hand out ‘How to live’ guides telling people to eat organic and exercise more. He said I am the life. This is the ultimate in ‘Just trust me’ statements.

Which leads me to ponder whether there has there ever been a more ego-centric person? I do not mean that it a pejorative or negative sense, but no other figure in history has ever said ‘Look at me’ as much as Jesus did. And those that did, have never lived up to the hype.

Buddha said Trust yourself. Moses said Trust the LORD. Mohammed said Trust Allah. Descarte said Trust your thinking. Darwin said Trust the Fossils. Smith said Trust the markets. Freud said Trust the Ego. Marx said Trust the workers.

No matter who says it, no many how many times they say it, and no matter the circumstances in which they say it, no one other than Jesus has ever been able to say those simple words with the same effect as Jesus did – ‘Trust me’.

There has been only one who has said it and delivered. There has been only one who was talked the talk and walked the walk. There is only one who is worth trusting. Only one who is trustworthy.

When Jesus says “Just trust me”, do you?

Is this not the best Church Welcome you have ever read?

Posted on by Andrew

And here is the full text:

We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, gay, filthy rich, black and proud, y no habla Ingles.

We extend a special welcome to those who are new-borns, poor as dirt, skinny as a rail, got a hitch in their git-along, or just plain can’t sing. You’re welcome here if you’re “just browsing,” just woke up, or just got out of jail. We don’t care if you’re more Lutheran than Luther, or more Catholic than the Pope, or haven’t been in church since little Maria’s confirmation.

We extend a special welcome to those who are over 40 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome soccer moms, NASCAR dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, junk-food eaters, and people who stay up too late at night. If you’re having problems, or you’re down in the dumps, or you don’t like “organized religion,” we’ve been there too. If you blew all your offering money at Black Hawk, you’re welcome here.

We offer a special welcome to those who could lose a few pounds, think the earth is flat, work too hard, can’t spell, or came because grandma’s in town and wanted to go to church. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, are three-times divorced, had religion shoved down your throat as a kid, or got lost in traffic and wound up here by mistake. We welcome tourists, seekers, doubters, bleeding hearts … and you!

Welcome Home!

(All credit to Rev John Petty All Saints Lutheran, Aurora, Colorado)