by Marti Fischer

Here at the Catch, our continuing study of the Word provides us with the opportunity to examine the challenges we face in living together respectfully and joyfully on this small planet while recognizing the role we play as Christians in the marketplace.

Our starting point in our daily Catch conversations is not to give the answers, but to ask questions, where the exploration in finding the answer calls us to the Word of God. That usually opens up further questions in our pursuit of the truth.

What draws us together as a group is that we do not rely on opinions or assume (or insist) that we all come from the same place in our understanding.  This pursuit of learning from the word of our Lord takes into account the diversity each of us represents.  Therefore, as a group, we do not end our conversations with an examination, where we insist that we are all 100% correct. Instead of insisting we agree on the same answer, each conversation often opens our hearts with new questions.

Having to be 100% right is fraught with many disasters. In many cases, there is little difference between being 100% right and being an extremist.  There are plenty of world events where being adamant about being 100% right causes great harm to some and death to others. Think about the militant disputes between Jews and the Palestinians; the Muslim Shiites, Kurds, and Sunni Arabs against the infidels (the Christians and Jews); the Christian Crusade (Protestant Christians against Catholicism); and so on.

Radical diehards kill faith. Think about it.  Take a minute to remember a time in a conversation when you required yourself to be 100% right. Once you have the picture, ask yourself, “Was the need to be 100% right because it was rooted in my faith, or was the need to be 100% right rooted more in fear that I was not 100% right?

Some have said that when we are not sure we are 100% right, we tend to try and be doubly sure by being louder in our defensive declaration, which is not only obnoxious but also shuts down the contributions of others.   

In 2 Corinthians, Paul tells a story about how God uses him even when he knows he’s not 100% right.

Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia. (2 Corinthians 2:12-13)

Those brief words gather up a moment of tremendous conflict in Paul’s life. He had gone to Troas from Ephesus, as he tells us here, to preach the gospel of Christ. This was his great joy everywhere. Wherever he went, he knew he would find people sunk in despair, filled with darkness, their lives governed by superstition and fear, being hounded, haunted, and hurt by all they were going through — people who, without realizing what they were doing, had fallen into terrible, hurtful things that were destroying them. It was Paul’s great joy to come with the good news of Jesus Christ, the one who understands the hurts of men, the deliverer, the healer of hurts, and the power to touch and transform human lives. Paul longed to preach the gospel, as he tells us, to everyone, everywhere because it was such a tremendous experience to see the power of God let loose among men to set them free.

So here he is in Troas to do what his heart desires. The door was open in the marketplace, and people responded and wanted to know more. Yet, as he tells us here, he could not take advantage of the opportunity because he was too anxious about what was happening in Corinth. Paul was too troubled; he had to leave.

John and I are experiencing real pain in our lives today. We recognize aspects of our marriage where we have failed. We are sorting through the rubble and feeling very numb by it all. We feel helpless. As John was preparing to address our community, something he loves to do with all of his heart, distress filled his stomach, causing him to call on another pastor to take his place. John walked past the open door that always brings him great joy because he was too troubled and found no peace of mind. He left to find out what was going on with him and me.

I trust I am not alone when sharing such an intimate experience. Even though it is difficult, being open and honest with one another is good.  But that is not why I am sharing this story today. I want you to join me in proclaiming with astonishment Paul’s response to his understanding of the fallen self and his humanity in the following verse:

But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. (2 Corinthians 2:14)

With my background as a long-standing sinner, you can understand why I dance around the room when hearing Paul’s cry of grateful thanksgiving for God’s powerful ministry, which stood no less than a verse away from his sense of failure, weakness, frustration, and lost opportunity.

This is because the power is from God’s ministry, not ours.  My fallen self and many failures prove that I am indeed inadequate, and any adequacy I have comes only through the Lord. In the core of my being, God’s strength is made perfect in this weakness with the grace given to me to give to others and to do so with greater compassion, sensitivity, wisdom, and understanding. Thus, it logically suggests that my mistakes have been redeemed and put to God’s intended purpose.

If you believe that you have to be 100% right, you will see everything from your 100% right perspective, where there is no opening for a wider angle that calls for further questions … causing us to live freely between the answers. It’s that place, where our vulnerability is revealed, and we know we’re not 100% right, and we are caught between the answers, that the power of God shows up in us.

And that, my dear friends, sisters, and brothers, is absolute independence that rises above all declarations to be 100% right.

Happy Birthday, America.