Let the Expert be the Expert

As a young adult, I always went for the most economical haircut. The issue I had, however, was that the workers would always ask me how I wanted it cut, and I would try to relay whatever I thought was best, which meant the same way I had done it for the last 10 years. At some point my mom told me to just find someone professional to cut my hair. The first time I went to a professional for a haircut, he basically just started cutting. I gave him little instruction, and in turn, he showed me how he thought my hair should be cut. I still go to this guy today. Don’t get me wrong, occasionally I will tell him what annoys me about my hair and he does his best to answer my concern. I trust him because he has been cutting hair for 40 years, so now I don’t stress about it anymore.

A similar thing can happen with funeral or wedding planning. I sit down with the couple or family and ask what hymns or Bible verses they would like to use. Sometimes they have specifics, but many times they are not really sure what to pick or where to start looking for options. When that happens, I try to provide comfort saying,  “Don’t worry. I just wanted to know if you wanted something specific. If not, I will take care of it.” At this point they usually feel a sense of relief that they don’t need to display their Biblical knowledge in front of me, or lack of it. (Honestly, you will sometimes find me googling verses based upon the theme just to see what other verses may fit.)

Many times we want to be experts in everything, and we have concerns when we’re not. For example, I have hair on my head, but I get uncomfortable when I have no clue when trying to tell someone how to cut it. As a pastor, I want to help people through critical times in their lives. Not knowing Bible verses or hymns does not change my opinion of anyone. I love that Jesus allows me to serve them.

The disciples had a great task in front of them—tell the world about Jesus. I am sure there was pressure in their own minds to make sure that they knew every detail. Thus, they probably had a hard time sorting out the concepts that only God can understand and explain. For example, Jesus and the Father being one is one of the toughest to understand. Only God can truly understand a concept like this. The fact that Jesus is preparing enough rooms for everyone who believes in Him is another. This weekend we take time to step back and let Jesus be the expert in the matters we can’t understand. I pray it will bring clarity and relief to you, not having to figure out everything, and also encouragement to work together as the body of Christ. Jesus has surrounded us with gifted experts in many matters, and the more we work together, the more we see the uniqueness of God’s creation.