Friday, August 13, 2010

Absolutes

"The only things in life that are certain are death and taxes". I heard somewhere that Benjamin Franklin coined that term on a Friday the 13th in 1789. I'm not sure if that is an accurate tag or not, but on this Friday the 13th I would like to clear some things up about the phrase itself.

Maybe it's the teenage rebel trapped within me that always wants to buck the system or dispute the sayings of our parents, but this particular one-liner has always left me feeling uneasy. It may have something to do with the way my mother, in particular, used this saying, seeming always when something didn't quite go my way. I believe it was well meaning. I believe she meant to quote it as a way to help me learn to cope with unexpected circumstances, but the negative and helpless attitude it communicated always left me feeling out of control or wearied, never relaxed or safe.

Here's the beef: I don't think that either taxes or death are quite as consistent, unyielding, or unchangeable as my Father God is. His will included. I mean, Jesus beat death. Tell Him death is certain. See what He says. See if He doesn't laugh a very real/ not dead laugh.

As far as taxes go, (or any other man-made system) Jesus bested those as well, paying his Disciples' tax by making a fish spit out a coin. Not commonplace, I'll grant you, but it did happen. Jesus can do the same with the seemingly overwhelming systems you're facing today. The best part is, He can do it in a silly, simply easy way. He can think of things you never did and pull strings (or fish) you never knew existed.

So hear me out, I'm not saying Christ followers don't need life insurance or that we should all stop paying taxes ("Jesus is our general"). What I'm saying is that as followers of Christ we should be trusting in Him to be there. Resting in him. He is certain, He will certainly help, He certainly has a plan. His yoke is easy and His burden is light, and that's all there is to it.

Maybe I need to let my Father teach me something new about the absolutes in life. Whenever things are happening that feel out of control or unexpected, I should now remember: "The only thing in life that's certain is Jesus Christ and His awesome love for you". That's a little less dizzying, a little more reassuring.

I think that's what my Father meant. BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

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