Favorite Verses

 November 15, 2021

At my brother in law’s funeral last week, the pastor noted his favorite Bible verse, which I think was John 3:16. That verse is a favorite among many, speaking as it does of God’s love for us which is great enough for him to give his only Son so our sins could be forgiven and we could have eternal life. This verse, the heart of the Gospel, is rightfully a favorite among so many Christians.

Mine is a bit different, and to some, it seems a bit odd, but I can explain. Actually, I have two verses that vie for favorite. The first is from Psalm 131:1-2a

“Lord, my heart is not haughty, 

Nor my eyes lofty. 

Neither do I concern myself with great matters, 

Nor with things too profound for me. 

Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul.”

The second is from Luke 3:1-2

“Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.”

These two texts are at the heart of who I am and how I think. When I get too caught up in all the craziness of all that’s happening in our world today, this psalm reminds me to slow down, back away, and not allow things I cannot control, control me. Media blares at us continually, and it is easy to bow down before it, soaking it all in till it consumes me. I regularly have to consciously lay it all down and recalibrate my soul in the presence of the Christ who is Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, before whom someday every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The second text is likewise, a perspective-adjuster. When those words were written, everyone would have recognized the names listed here. These were the movers and shakers, the rich and famous, the powerful elite of the day. If they were alive today, they would be on the front pages and at the top of a Google search. 

But in spite of their fame and power, the word of the Lord came to John in the wilderness. We expect the momentous events of our lives to flow from Washington, Beijing, or Moscow, but God keeps showing up in the backwater places where people are stripped bare of all the distractions and life is reduced to survival mode. 

Together, these texts remind me to not allow my heart to be troubled by current events, but to trust in the God who reveals himself to nobodies in obscure places. That gives me hope, because you can’t get much more nobody than me, and much more obscure than Sinclairville, NY. But get this: God keeps showing up!