Would you let Jesus cut your hair?
I fingered the ends of my hair and contemplated their health. Hmm, a few too many split ends... seems time for a trim. Seeing as the last time I cut my hair was almost a year ago, that's no surprise. But the manner in which I'd go about it was a conundrum. I'm not the type of person to pay good money for the smallest sizzing of the scissors and the privilege of a comfy chair. Neither am I adventurous enough to experiment with my own hair-cutting abilities. At least, not on my hair.
The remaining option made the most sense: ask Mom to do it. I love my Mom more than anyone on this earth, so I was rather startled by the sense of hesitation that I had at the prospect of handing her the scissors. Don't I love her? But it wasn't a matter of love, it was about something else. How is it possible that I should learn something in the process of getting no more than a quarter inch of my hair cut? It's because I realized it for what it was: a microcosm of the human struggle. Not to love, but to trust.
The night previous, Mattea and I had gone to the Discipleship House in Elmira for a bible study. Pastor Dave, the speaker that evening, stated plenty of truths and revelations that I could endlessly elaborate on, but the one thing that struck me most potently was this: Loving Jesus is not the same as trusting Jesus.
Plenty of people love Jesus, his teachings, and his life. Ask a random sampling of the population about whether or not they love Jesus and you'll probably hear things such as,
"Me? Yeah, of course I love Jesus, he was a great man and he taught wonderful things."
"Oh yeah, you know, I don't believe in him, but I love him, he's so cool."
"Of course! His beard is to die for."
Maybe not the last one, but I wouldn't be surprised. The point is that there's a whole bunch of people that love Him but won't trust Him. You can love what He says about who's the greatest, but do you actually trust that to become the greatest you must become the least? You can love how he died on the cross, because it's a cool story, but do you actually trust your life (present and eternal) upon the fact that He died and was resurrected to bring you abundant life? The believer crosses a vast expanse when they decide to move from loving into trusting.
We as humans have a hard time trusting. I have a hard time trusting. When I can't even trust myself sometimes, how on earth am I to trust others? But there is no life without trust. Neither are there good (and free) hair trims. I was ashamed of my distrust and knew that the best route to overcoming it was by actually choosing to trust despite myself. I told Mom what I was looking for, handed her the scissors and was dismayed when she lopped off a whole foot of hair.
As if she would do that.
She has loved me longer than anyone besides God. She created me. And all she would ever want is to give me my best, and prove over and over again that I can trust her. She wouldn't do such a thing to me in a million years. Now if she wants me to trust her, and if she has such logical reasons for being trustworthy, then should I not also trust the One who designed me, who knows how many hairs are on my head, and even how short or long each hair is? This isn't a hard question to answer.
Though sometimes it feels that it is.
The very hesitation that I feel to trust Him is only a more profound reason for doing so. The ruler of this world (Satan, in case you didn't know, 1st John 5:19) doesn't want me to trust God. But when push comes to shove, I have a choice I must make, and the only One worthy of trust is God. It is by Him that all things hold together, including me. And when I trust Him, even my falling apart is made whole.
Anxieties, attitudes, and addictions flee when we choose to trust. I wonder what the difference would be in my life, in your life, if we began to ask ourselves and seriously evaluate whether or not we're trusting this Jesus and who He is. So many people think that loving Jesus is enough, so ask yourself this simple question and see how it shakes up your world: Do I trust Him?
The remaining option made the most sense: ask Mom to do it. I love my Mom more than anyone on this earth, so I was rather startled by the sense of hesitation that I had at the prospect of handing her the scissors. Don't I love her? But it wasn't a matter of love, it was about something else. How is it possible that I should learn something in the process of getting no more than a quarter inch of my hair cut? It's because I realized it for what it was: a microcosm of the human struggle. Not to love, but to trust.
The night previous, Mattea and I had gone to the Discipleship House in Elmira for a bible study. Pastor Dave, the speaker that evening, stated plenty of truths and revelations that I could endlessly elaborate on, but the one thing that struck me most potently was this: Loving Jesus is not the same as trusting Jesus.
Plenty of people love Jesus, his teachings, and his life. Ask a random sampling of the population about whether or not they love Jesus and you'll probably hear things such as,
"Me? Yeah, of course I love Jesus, he was a great man and he taught wonderful things."
"Oh yeah, you know, I don't believe in him, but I love him, he's so cool."
"Of course! His beard is to die for."
Maybe not the last one, but I wouldn't be surprised. The point is that there's a whole bunch of people that love Him but won't trust Him. You can love what He says about who's the greatest, but do you actually trust that to become the greatest you must become the least? You can love how he died on the cross, because it's a cool story, but do you actually trust your life (present and eternal) upon the fact that He died and was resurrected to bring you abundant life? The believer crosses a vast expanse when they decide to move from loving into trusting.
We as humans have a hard time trusting. I have a hard time trusting. When I can't even trust myself sometimes, how on earth am I to trust others? But there is no life without trust. Neither are there good (and free) hair trims. I was ashamed of my distrust and knew that the best route to overcoming it was by actually choosing to trust despite myself. I told Mom what I was looking for, handed her the scissors and was dismayed when she lopped off a whole foot of hair.
As if she would do that.
She has loved me longer than anyone besides God. She created me. And all she would ever want is to give me my best, and prove over and over again that I can trust her. She wouldn't do such a thing to me in a million years. Now if she wants me to trust her, and if she has such logical reasons for being trustworthy, then should I not also trust the One who designed me, who knows how many hairs are on my head, and even how short or long each hair is? This isn't a hard question to answer.
Though sometimes it feels that it is.
The very hesitation that I feel to trust Him is only a more profound reason for doing so. The ruler of this world (Satan, in case you didn't know, 1st John 5:19) doesn't want me to trust God. But when push comes to shove, I have a choice I must make, and the only One worthy of trust is God. It is by Him that all things hold together, including me. And when I trust Him, even my falling apart is made whole.
Anxieties, attitudes, and addictions flee when we choose to trust. I wonder what the difference would be in my life, in your life, if we began to ask ourselves and seriously evaluate whether or not we're trusting this Jesus and who He is. So many people think that loving Jesus is enough, so ask yourself this simple question and see how it shakes up your world: Do I trust Him?
Comments
Post a Comment