People naturally do not trust. Need help with a tooth? No matter how painful the tooth is you will rarely find anyone willing to let somebody pull their tooth unless they have seen their qualifications. Go into any doctor’s office and you will find certificate after certificate proudly on display! The lack of trust doesn’t stop with the medical profession; almost any profession requires certification, testing, or experience that others document and use to offset their fear.
One might assume that once we get beyond the trades, medical and business professions that our willingness to trust would increase. It doesn’t. No matter who you are it is natural to find yourself asking “what qualification does he or she hold that qualifies them to make a statement that I disagree with?” I find myself questioning those who offer advice on improving health and even views on public policy. When it gets to matters spiritual my fear grows!
I can only imagine the authorities of the day when Jesus threw the money changers out of the temple. Clearly “the Jews were upset. They asked, ‘What credentials can you present to justify this [confronting evil in sacred spaces]?’” (John 2.18) Who are you to say that what we have allowed should not be?
Given the works of Jesus life there is no doubt that Jesus reflected Divinity. The life long expression of compassion, mercy, and love without thought of personal benefit could only come from directly from God. You and I are not capable of such actions sustained over time. Yet we are qualified to act when we see evil in action! We are, with our choice in responding to God’s arms of love and mercy, empowered to act on Divinity’s behalf! We are qualified to represent in our human weaknesses and failures what compassion, love, and mercy can be in action.
There is no question that we will fail; we are human in every way. Yet there lies, in each day, moments where we can give God’s gift to others in our words and actions. Seize the day!
