41 “O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”
The path of non-faith is always a twisting and winding path. We get easily twisted around backwards. I think of the kid who tells a lie for the first time. You know, the obvious one, “Did you eat the chocolate icing?” or “Did you write with the markers?” when they are covered in icing or marker. The proof is right there, but the kid thinks they can get away with it. It is a great moment for the parents. The parents must have the power to see even when they are not in the room. They weren’t in the room, and yet they know I did it. Parents, capitalize on the ‘power’. But then they start learning to stretch their lies. Then their lies get covered in other lies. Politicians do it all the time. The promise one thing, and then “what they really mean” comes out. They are for all the people, but they are really only for certain people. They believe in freedom, but only if the ‘freedom’ looks the way they want it to look. They are for enforcing the law, but only the laws they like. The back-peddling happens so fast after the election that to an objective observer, no politician can be trusted. They take credit for accomplishments that are not theirs, and the pass off blame for the things that are theirs. The twisting continues. But it is not just politicians that have this problem. We do the same kinds of things. Anytime we give our word and don’t keep it, we end up twisting just like the politicians. It is a hard habit to break. The goal is to speak the truth in love. Jesus is frustrated with the disciples. They have previously gone out with His authority and cast out demons and healed the sick. Why did they not simply trust as they had before? They knew who had the authority. They just needed to exercise that trust.
The Arnold Journey 