Identifying Your Central Issue
One of the things I love about the scriptures is how often I reread a passage that I have read a kazillion times, only to have a particular section speak into my daily life as if I had never heard it. Here’s a passage that did just that. This particular passage is written as a summary of sorts in the book of Galatians. Evidently these folks had been arguing over whether circumcision was a godly thing or a goofball decision. Then Paul says this…
Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do - submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what GOD is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life!
Galatians 6, somewhere between 14-16 in The Message
As I evaluate and re-evaluate my own values depending on the circumstances, it seems to me that I am required to think about the CENTRAL ISSUE. What is it, exactly? Is the most important thing which side one comes down on regarding circumcision? Really? Of course not. It is so easy to see that a couple thousand years later. Today I wonder. What do you think the CENTRAL ISSUE is in your life? Your life. I say that because our life is the one we are responsible for; our life is the one we will answer for. We need to be very careful at this moment. We need to think about our responsibility, our life, our values and our response to them. Whether or not my children and I agree politically, for example, is not my priority. My priority, my core value, is having relationships that are characterized by respect and dignity. It is undignified and disrespectful for me to have ANY expectation about my children’s political leanings. They are grown ups. They own their life; I own mine.
So what is the CENTRAL ISSUE? For me, it is about trying to make sense and apply what it means to believe in a God who is creating something totally new - a free life. I am curious about this; I lean into it and ask myself questions like: What would it mean for me to have a free life? What’s the new thing that God is up to? What is God doing and how can I possibly figure that out? What issues feel “central” to me that are not central. What is the central issue anyway? What am I missing? How is my ego standing in the way of my discernment? In what areas am I certain? Certainty is not possible when dealing with “totally new” anything. What am I missing? What is my responsibility? What is NOT my responsibility? What will I regret if I get it wrong? How do I imitate God? What does love look like in this situation?
The questions go on and on and on - but they are questions I ask and answer about me - because I am who I am responsible for. Everyone else? I am responsible TO - my family, my friends, my enemies. May you find the answers you seek within the arms of our Loving God.
