I Don’t Know

April 22, 2023

God’s ways often puzzle me. Why he has chosen to allow some of the things we see going on in the world is a mystery to me. I understand that for love to be possible, there must be the possibility of refusing that love, ie. free will, but does there need to be so much refusal? 

The question of Good and Evil is enough to boggle the most unboggled minds, and since mine is boggled most of the time, I’m not even going to touch that one. How about a lesser conundrum? This morning I was reading in Matthew 17 where Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on the mountain to watch as he was transfigured before them. He began to shine, as did his clothes, and then they saw him conversing with Moses and Elijah. There are numerous explanations why these two got to talk with Jesus; both of them didn’t die in our ordinary sense. Moses was buried by God himself, and Elijah was taken up to heaven in a tornado. Or it could be that Moses was the greatest lawgiver, and Elijah the greatest prophet. But that’s not my concern tonight.

I’m wondering why Jesus chose Peter, James, and John. We know in retrospect that they were  leaders of the fledgling church, but what did Jesus see in them at the time? Or does it even matter? For that matter, what did he see in me that he chose me for himself? If I had been looking for a disciple or better yet, a preacher, I don’t think I would have chosen me. But Jesus did, just like he chose Peter, James, and John.

I don’t have to understand everything I read in the Bible. I don’t have to be able to answer all the questions I have. I just need to believe and be thankful. I like the way John put it years after he saw Jesus on the mountain. When he began penning his Revelation of Jesus Christ, he began with these words:

“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” —Revelation 1:3 

Notice what is missing in this blessing. We are blessed if we read, if we hear, and if we keep these words. Nothing is said about understanding them. This is especially important as we read the Revelation, but it is true for all of Scripture. It’s good to understand, but it’s better to believe and to obey. I don’t know why Jesus chose those three men. I don’t know how the other disciples felt about it, although given how often they argued about who was the greatest, I would guess they weren’t too happy about it. 

There’s a lot I don’t know. But this I do know: Jesus died in our place so our sins could be forgiven, he arose from the dead to give us new life, he ascended to the Father so he could send us the Holy Spirit, he is coming again to take us to our forever home, and wonder of wonders, he chose me. And you. It is therefore fitting that we bow before him in grateful repentance and faiths to receive him and the salvation he offers us.