No Answers, Prayer, Mercy

In my recent post, Not Having All the Answers, I shared with you a struggle that an important person in my life was having and that I worked hard at not coming up with all the perfect theological and scriptural answers to help him solve his problem.

Today I have it on my heart to share the end of the story. Or you could say it was the beginning.

The person is my brother and the problem he faced (without going into his private details) was a legal one (albeit minor). A wrong attitude on his part combined with a falsehood told by the law enforcement side brought him to the day where he had to face things — but he was tempted to run away instead (literally). Depending on the mind of one judge, he could face an unknown amount of jail time. Long enough and he’d also face the upheaval of losing his business, dog, house – in short, his life.

For weeks, he struggled, prayed, wrestled, rationalized, talked, went back and forth, and fought mentally and spiritually over a decision that either way could change his life forever. For weeks, those of us who love him supported, listened, and loved him without telling him what he should do.

Not Having All the Answers

When I was much younger (in years and in the faith), I was involved in a Christian online forum. Since many of the people who frequented that forum were even younger than I was, I became a person who was an “authority.” I hesitate to use that word, because I always viewed it as service, not expertise.

Many of these people were wrestling with significant doctrinal issues and I would often feel compelled to try and answer all their questions. You can imagine how overwhelming this was, but it also led me to a place where I began to feel I needed to be right about everything. To be able to give an airtight explanation that would leave them feeling more satisfied and confident in their Christian faith.