What If?

What If?

That’s the question.

It’s a simple question that carries with it all manner of possibilities, anxieties, fears…all sorts of good and bad thoughts.

 

“What if I take that job in another state?”

“What if I don’t?”

 

“What if we have that difficult conversation?”

“What if it goes well?”

“What if it goes poorly?”

 

This list is almost infinite. We ask ourselves, others, and God this question far too often.

God didn’t create us for “What if?” He doesn’t operate in this space of uncertainty.

 

He.

Is.

Certainty.

 

So why is it so difficult to just sit in that place of certainty and trust?

We have this incredible Father who is always good. The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah writes about God’s desire for us when he says God’s desire is to bring us prosperity and not harm; to give us a hope and a future. That’s right. The “hell fire and brimstone” God of the Old Testament wants to bring us His best. A best that we can’t even hope to fathom until it’s staring us in the face. In fact, often times His best could be lovingly thumping us on the nose, yet we won’t see it. We get so caught up in the asking of this question that we can’t clean the scales from our eyes to see that the answer is already in front of us.

 

This afternoon, I was texting with a friend who had a theology question. I had my own “What If?” moment.

 

“What if I steer her in the wrong direction?”

What if my belief on this topic is way off base?”

What If I say something that hurts or offends her?”

“What if…?”

 

I shot up a quick “shotgun” prayer and answered. From that came a discussion that brought this idea into my head.

We ask, “What if?” because we lack faith. We lack the depth of faith that the Apostles once had. They were all too willing and happy to face suffering to further the spreading of God’s Word. They didn’t deal in “What ifs”. They dealt in placing their lives and faith in their good Father. In that faith, “What if?” isn’t a question that was even in their mind’s peripheral. They were so assured of their path and so in tune with their Creator that they simply acted in faith.

When they were sent to places where they knew the people there hated everything they stood for, and wanted them dead, they went. They went with great faith and reckless abandon. They did so because they knew the One who had gone before them. They knew that God would not have sent them down a path He had not already walked.

While discussing this with my friend and going through the suffering these early church leaders endured, she responded with the way they suffered and died being a “bummer”. For those of us Christ followers living in a civilized Christian society, this description makes sense. For us, it’s nearly impossible to imagine our faith truly being tested. Tested to the point of staring the devil in the face and knowing our life is about to be forfeit. For the believers in the early days of Christianity this was to be expected, more often than not.

My response was that it really wasn’t a “bummer” for the Apostles and Disciples of old. They were ready to face suffering on earth because they knew what awaited once their race had been finished; once their fight was fought.

 

I was reminded of the story of a young woman of 17. Her name was Cassie. On the fateful day of April 20, 1999, she and her fellow students at Columbine High School found themselves in the grip of evil. An Evil that had manifested itself in her schoolmates.

Evil never uses who or what you expect. Evil takes what should never be seen as anything but innocent and corrupts it; twists it; crushes it’s will and molds it to the distorted version of itself that evil desires.

Cassie was found hiding under a table. She was placed on her knees and the barrel of a gun was pressed against her forehead. She was faced with a question that the answer to would decide whether she lived or died.

 

“Do you believe in God?”

 

What a question to be asked. In any context, this question is one of the most difficult you can ask a person. In this context, it was the difference between life and death.

Cassie knew she had only two choices of how to answer.

A young woman of faith, she knew there was only one sin that could not be forgiven. If she denied Christ she might live, but only for a time. Eternity would no longer be accessible for her.

The only option for her was to answer by professing her faith. That answer sealed her fate. That answer ended her life in that moment.

No.

The only thing that answer ended was her suffering in this world.

YES was the answer that began her life eternally.

Cassie chose not to be caught up in “What if?”. She chose to cling to the promise of Jesus. We may face great suffering in this world, but He has already overcome it. Because he has, the “What ifs” of this world matter not.

She lives on in this world through the memory of her faith. I can think of no better expression of this than the song “Cassie” written by Flyleaf.

 

So the only “What if?” question we should ask is this.

What if I give all to my Creator?