As we seek to share the gospel with our friends and relatives, especially those whom we love dearly, we are sometimes frustrated with their lack of interest in spiritual things, and secretly, we wonder if they will ever come to Christ.

As we read Jesus' parable of the sower, we are far too familiar with those seeds on the wayside, and on shallow rocks. We too are familiar with those who appear to respond favorably to the gospel, only to fall away because of their busyness, their reluctance to give up their ways of life or the objection from their family.

I too remember the long journey it took to see my parents come to Christ. While I thought my mum was a very good person and she went to church at times, I was afraid she did not really know salvation. So, as I truly came to Christ in my late teen-years, I worried about her salvation, and one day, I gathered up my courage to share with her the need to accept Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior. It did not go too well, as she basically did not respond to whatever I said (which probably was because I did not do a good job in explaining). But I did not stop praying for her, and I knew that my other born-again siblings would also pray for her.

It would be at least almost 20 years later, when she joined us in Vancouver that she began attending church regularly, and I could see her appetite for things spiritual grow exponentially that she could even recite Psalms 22-24 by memory before a large gathering in the church.

While my mum's conversion was not too surprising, that of my father was. His relationship with most of us had not been good, and with his macho and smile-less image, none of us would have the courage to share the gospel with him, except to pray for him. I did too, for many years, and God answered our prayers. The pastor of one of my brothers happened to grow up in a small village where my father was stationed for work (I think during the wartime). Thus he could strike up a kinship with my father that no one else could, and eventually he led him to Christ, and my father passed away not too long afterwards. I will never forget the time, when the pastor led our family in prayers at my father's funeral, before we headed out to the main hall. As I stood there with my eyes closed, I knew it was the light from the ceiling lights, but the light glowed in such a way as if it were from heaven, and my heart felt strangely warm with the inner assurance that, as much as it was hard to believe, my father was received into heaven.

I always wonder how we, as sharers of the gospel, can make the soil of the hearers good. Well, we cannot, only God can; but I believe that through our unceasing intercession, God will cause circumstances to happen to our loved ones to soften their hearts that the seed of the gospel will eventually bear fruits, no matter how long a journey it may be. He does make all things beautiful in His time.

Today, I invite you to meditate on the lyrics of this old hymn which has touched the lives of many, including mine.

Comments on this hymn include:

"It takes about three minutes to sing this song through, but I wonder how long it takes to get from verse one to verse four in my experience. What will it take for Him to be all in all?"

"Only an Evangelical preacher can write a hymn like this."

1. Oh, the bitter shame and sorrow,
   That a time could ever be,
   When I let the Savior's pity
   Plead in vain, and proudly answered,
   All of self, and none of Thee,
   All of self and none of Thee.
2. Let He found me; I beheld Him
   Bleeding on the cursed tree;
   Heard Him pray, Forgive them, Father,
   And my wistful heart said faintly,
   Some of self, and some of Thee,
   Some of self, and some of Thee.
3. Day by day His tender mercy,
   Healing, helping, full and free,
   Sweet and strong, and ah! so patient,
   Brought me lower while I whispered,
   Less of self, and more of Thee,
   Less of self, and more of Thee.
4. Higher than the highest heavens,
   Deeper than the deepest sea,
   Lord, Thy love at last hath conquered;
   Grant me now my heart's petition,
   None of self, and all of Thee,
   None of self, and all of Thee.

By Theodore Monod, 1836-1921

In the name of civility and in the guise of building bridges with Mormons, more and more Evangelical scholars and leaders are attempting to soften the traditional hardline apologetic attacks on Mormonism. One Christian scholar even paints Mormonism as being "obsessed" with Jesus Christ.

Irrespective of how the modern Mormon Church sugar-coats their beliefs and how kind-hearted Evangelicals seek to narrow the gap between Christianity and Mormonism, their view of Jesus is absolutely contrary to our biblical beliefs. The following quote from CARM (Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry) is sufficient to show the basic differences:

"In Mormonism, Jesus is a creation, the product of relations between god and his goddess wife who used to be people from another world (McConkie, Bruce, Mormon Doctrine, p. 192, 321, 516, 589). Jesus is the literal spirit brother of the devil and of you and I (McConkie, p. 192, 589). Also, in Mormon theology, God has a body of flesh and bones (Doctrine & Covenants 130:22) as does his wife and together they produce spirit offspring in heaven who inhabit human bodies on earth."

You can go to the CARM's website to get a helpful comparison chart between the Mormon's Jesus and the Biblical Jesus.

Also, when Mormons say that they believe in salvation through Jesus Christ, you have to read their Articles of Faith to understand what they truly mean. One of the Articles says,

"We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel."

It is clear that they do not believe in salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone, not to mention the Jesus Christ they believe in is a very different Savior than ours.

Yes, we love Mormons, just as we love any sinner in the world, and we need to pray for their salvation. But by deceiving ourselves to believe that they do believe in Jesus Christ, we are not doing them and ourselves any favor.

I love reading biographies of the Puritans, and I love reading stories of the missionaries. Among them, the story of David Brainerd has touched me over time.

A short ministry: David Brainerd only began devoting his ministry to reaching the Indians in New Jersey at age 27 and died at age 29 due to tuberculosis. God only used him in this respect for a very short, short time, and like a mustard seed, he died for his calling and yielded very little result at the time (only a few converts).

A tough ministry: He received his training at Yale, but because of his evangelistic zeal, he was expelled (but Yale eventually dedicated a hall in his name). In spite of the temptation to pastor churches, he was faithful to his calling and passion, and devoted his life to reaching the Indians, something very few were willing to do.

A prayer ministry: What marked him from other missionaries and Puritans was perhaps his prayer life. One should not miss the opportunity to read his diary published by Jonathan Edwards. In it, we can clearly see that he was a man of intense prayer. I am moved, every time I read some of his journals, and am reminded of his prayer life. Perhaps an excerpt from his journal will help:

"Nov. 3. I spent this day in secret fasting and prayer, from morning till night. Early in the morning, I had some assistance in prayer. Afterwards I read the story of Elijah the prophet. My soul was much moved, observing the faith, zeal, and power of that Holy man; and how he wrestled with God in prayer. I then cried with Elisha, 'Where is the Lord God of Elijah?!' I longed for more faith! My soul breathed after God, and pleaded with him, that a double portion of that spirit, which was given to Elijah, might rest on me, and I saw God is the same that he was in the days of Elijah. I was enabled to wrestle with God by prayer, in a more affectionate, humble, and importunate manner, than I have for many months past. Nothing seemed too hard for God to perform; nothing too great for me to hope for from him. I had for many months lost all hopes of doing any special service for God in the world; it appeared impossible, that one so vile should be thus employed for God. But at this time God was pleased to revive this hope. Afterwards I read the third chapter of Exodus, and on to the twentieth, and saw more of the glory and majesty of God discovered in those chapters, than ever I had seen before; frequently, in the meantime, falling on my knees, and crying to God for the faith of Moses, and for a manifestation of the Divine glory. My soul was ardent in prayer, and I was enabled to wrestle for myself, for my friends, and for the church. I felt more desire to see the power of God in the conversion of souls, than I have done for a long season. Blessed be God for this season of fasting and prayer. May his goodness always abide with me, and draw my soul to him."

An impacting ministry: As short as his life was, his time in ministry was even shorter and apparently his ministry yielded very little fruit in his time; but known through published diaries, his life impacted innumerable Christians, pastors and missionaries. He has indeed become a tree on whose branches many birds came to perch on. (Matt. 13:32)

"I'd Rather Have Jesus" is a song written by Rhea F. Miller with the tune written by George Beverly Shea. This poem, written in 1922, was left on a piano in the Shea home by Bev Shea who wanted her son to find it and that it would change the course of his life.

The words, "I'd rather have Jesus", moved George so much and spoke to him about his own aims and ambitions in life. He sat down at the piano and began singing them with a tune that seemed to fit the words. Shea's mom heard him singing it and asked him to sing it at church the next day.

George's life direction changed. He was offered a popular music career with NBC, but a few years later chose to become associated with evangelist Billy Graham and sang this hymn around the world. I invite you to meditate on these meaningful words and reflect on who Jesus is to you:

Refrain
Than to be the king of a vast domain
And be held in sin's dread sway;
I'd rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today

1. I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
   I'd rather be His than have riches untold;
   I'd rather have Jesus than houses or lands;
   I'd rather be led by His nail-pierced hand
2. I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause;
   I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause;
   I'd rather have Jesus than worldwide fame;
   I'd rather be true to His holy name
3. He's fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;
   He's sweeter than honey from out the comb;
   He's all that my hungering spirit needs;
   I'd rather have Jesus and let Him lead

As much as most Bible-believing churches seek to base their decisions on biblical principles, there is at least one area that we simply will not adopt biblical principles, and we do so blatantly. I am referring to the calling of a pastor by a church.

We know full well that the character of God's servant is of far more importance than his or her gifts, charisma and education, and yet most, if not all churches call their pastor based mainly on these external criteria. What is wrong with our churches? A lack of faith? A lack of courage? A lack of sensitivity and obedience to the Holy Spirit? Or, simply an unwillingness to get rid of our secular mindset?

I visited a church in New York that miraculously purchased an abandoned school building as their church. I said miraculously, because they submitted their bid to authorities purely based on faith and not on money which they did not have.

But the most miraculous deed they have done is how they called their senior pastor. As the old senior pastor retired, they went through the process of searching for his replacement, and as all good churches do, they did so with prayers. But their prayers were different, they prayed with an obedient spirit, and as the Holy Spirit moved them to appoint, not a Ph.D., not an experienced pastor, nor a pastor with great preaching skill, but their janitor who had demonstrated a character of love for both men and God, they obeyed.

To cut a long story short, I was told that half of the congregation left as a result, but the church prospered with solid growth and exemplary discipleship ministry even to the homeless.

I wish more churches would honestly live out their claim that they are a Bible-believing church.

When Jesus heard of John's execution, Matthew 14:13 says, "He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place." I am struck by the words being used: to withdraw, by boat, privately, a solitary place. Together they bring out the nuances of

1. An abrupt stop to the routine (to withdraw)
2. A resolve to be away from the crowd (by boat)
3. Leaving even the closest company behind (privately without His dear disciples), and
4. A time only between Him and the Father (a solitary place)

Although I have no idea how Jesus dealt with the death of John before the Father, it was certainly a time of sorrow, of apparent triumph of evil, the end of an important era (a close to John's mission to prepare His way — he had served his purpose in the Kingdom), and a reminder of His own death. As was Jesus' habit, He sensed the need to deal with it before the Father.

Of course, we need to emulate Jesus' habit of spending time alone in prayer with the Father (Mk. 1:35; Lk. 5:16; 6:12 etc.) often. Especially when we are facing some major events in our life, we do need to bring them before the Lord, to make sense of the situation, to make sure we have the correct attitude and response, and to seek His will.

If Jesus needed to stop whatever He was doing, to make an effort to leave the crowd and His usual environment, to even desert His closest company, and to find a place where He could meet with the Father without distraction, how much do we need to do the same.

John Stott's example of spending one day each month in solitude, in addition to his daily devotion time, of disappearing into the woods, in prayer and reflection is something we need to emulate; it is not just for the servants of God, but for all believers.

But it takes resolve, sacrifice and perhaps the misunderstanding of our loved ones to make it happen. And of course, it takes action.

Mark tells the story of the feeding of the 5,000 in Mark 6 against a background of a very hectic time of the disciples. They were very tired, but very excited as well. They had just experienced preaching the gospel by themselves in pairs, and had seen results, perhaps, not only of conversion, but also of miraculous healings and driving out of demons through them (for the first time, perhaps too).

They came back and shared with Jesus (and one another) all these exciting news. Jesus knew their need and proposed to withdraw to a quiet place and get some rest, away from the people, because "they did not even have a chance to eat". (Mk. 6:31)

So, when I read that they asked Jesus to disperse the people (who had disrupted their retreat) and send them away to buy their own food, I did not blame them for a moment. I would have done the same. But to their surprise (or even dismay, perhaps), Jesus said to them, "You give them something to eat." (Matt. 14:16, Mark 6:37)

Jesus demonstrated what true compassion is.

Compassion acts not when it is convenient to us: As much as they were more than tired and were having their time of rest and retreat, compassion does not take a break. A young pastor was having a very busy time in his office, and to his dismay, someone chose to walk into his office and asked to be counseled. As he frowned, he felt obliged to entertain this stranger. But in the middle of the conversation, the stranger said, "You are looking out of the window constantly; you are not listening to me." Busyness has a way to harden our heart and drive compassion away.

Compassion has no limit: When you think of what the disciples had just done previous to this occasion, you will wonder if they healed the sick and drove out demons out of compassion. If they healed not of out compassion, what was their motive? It is a scary thought. But I do think that they did it out of compassion too, but they confined the act of compassion to a certain time and place. I call this the sin of the "professionals".

I find the story of Peter walking on water both hilarious and touching. It was hilarious, because he sank right in front of Jesus, who was probably only a few feet away from him so that Jesus could reach out His hand and catch him.

But again, it was not so hilarious. Peter thought he was going to drown and die. It was a matter of life and death. I think it is easy for us to have a so-called "total trust" in the Lord when the matter is not so important to us. When we can afford not to have our prayer answered, we boldly declare that we have faith. In a way, it reminds us of Abraham. He did not question God's promise of the gift of land, because he thought that he would never have a son, and that most likely Eliezer, his servant would be his heir. So he did not really care. (Gen. 15:3). But when God assured him that he would have his own son, he believed (Gen. 15:6). Now, whether or not God would really give him land became, all of a sudden, of great importance. And what did he do? He asked for a sign (Gen. 15:8). Now he cared.

So, perhaps, if we think we have faith, before we brag about it, let us search our hearts and think again.

Then there is Peter's story and its touching moment as well when Jesus reached out (very humanly) to catch him. Why did I say humanly? Because Jesus could have commanded the water to hold Peter up, or He could have let Peter drown first, and raise him up again which would have been a greater miracle. But He reached out to grab him immediately, because he did not want Peter to suffer another second of unnecessary fear and anxiety. This was how much He cared about Peter. This is how much He cares about each one of us. Jesus does not want us to suffer an extra moment unnecessarily.

"If you've been around Christian teaching in our culture for very long, you've undoubtedly heard the reference to a hierarchy of priorities. This hierarchy says that in your life you should put Christ first, your marriage and family second, your church third, people fourth, and so on. The priorities become far less specific and ordered after number two or three, but you get the basic idea. God and family are up at the top. Work is never higher than number three or four." (D. Sherman and W. Hendricks, Your Work Matters to God)

I agree with Sherman and Hendricks in questioning if such a hierarchy is being taught in the Bible. The Pharisees were using this belief in hierarchy to trump the command to honor parents under the guise that God took precedence. Thus, Jesus chastised them in Matthew 15.

In His reply to what is the greatest commandment, Jesus makes clear that there is in fact no hierarchy: "'Love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' " (Matt. 22:37-39)

You might say, "Did Jesus make God first and people second?"

Well, we have to understand the following:

1. Jesus' reply is about what is the greatest commandment, not which two are the greatest;
2. Jesus did not end with v.39 above, but continued to emphasize in v. 40 that "All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." That means anyone of the two does not stand alone, but both, together, undergird the principle of all the commandments; and
3. Throughout the Scripture, it is clear that our love for God is primarily demonstrated through how we love and treat people. "For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen." (1 Jn. 4:20)

It is in our family relationship, in our church life, at work or school and in our community that we express our first love for the Lord. We care about people and we put our emphasis on people exactly because we love God who loves people. He put us in such a priority that He even sacrificed His own Son that we may have eternal life.

Watchman Nee understood this very well. He wrote his famous hymn, "Let Me Love", and ended with these words, "May I finish my days in pleasing other people." No one will dispute that Watchman Nee was not a people-pleaser. Everyone will agree that Watchman Nee put God first in his life. But these very last words of his song clearly reveal his understanding that in putting God first, he would humble himself to seek the good of other people around him.

As I quoted from Watchman Nee yesterday, I invite you to reflect on the words of his song which has touched the lives of an untold number of believers. (Note: I prefer my more literal translation of the last line as "May I finish my days in pleasing other people.")

Let me love and not be respected;
Let me serve and not be rewarded;
Let me labor and not be remembered;
Let me suffer and not be regarded

'Tis the pouring not the drinking;
'Tis the breaking, not the keeping —
A life suffering to seek others' blessing,
A life loving and true comfort giving

Not expecting pity and concern,
Not accepting solace and applause;
Even lonely, even forgotten,
Even wordless, even forsaken.

Tears and blood my price for the righteous crown shall be;
Losing all, my cost for a faithful pilgrim's life.'

Tis the life, O Lord, that You chose to live
In those days when on earth You walked,
Gladly suffering all injuries and loss
So that all might draw near and repose.

I cannot see how much farther I shall go;
Still I press on knowing there is no return.
Let me follow Your pattern so perfect and true,
Bearing ingratitude without complaint.

In this time of trial, O Lord, I pray
That You'll wipe all my hidden tears away;
Let me learn, O Lord, You are my reward,
Let me be others' blessing all my days.

Watchman Nee, 1930

Jesus commended the Canaanite woman in that she had "great faith". (Matt. 15:28) I have been pondering about what way her faith was great.

Being a gentile, somehow she already acknowledged that Jesus was the Son of David, in that Jesus was the Messiah of Israel. If this implies that she also acknowledged Jesus as God, then He would still be a foreign God to her.

Given such an understanding, she still asked Jesus for healing. This, in itself, was an act of unusual faith.

But Jesus was bent on testing her faith further, with words so mean that surprise all readers of the Bible down through the ages. But the key to understand that Jesus was by no means mean is His statement to the disciples that "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." If that was true, why would He choose to spend time in Tyre and Sidon of the gentiles purposely? We know certainly that Jesus was sent to save all mankind. But, none of the disciples challenged His statement. Perhaps this statement only served to reinforce their bias towards gentiles, which was clearly demonstrated in the first chapters of the Book of Acts. They had a hard time believing that gentiles could be saved and receive the Holy Spirit, just as the Jews.

As Jesus acted as if He were like the rest of the Jews "who spoke with arrogant insolence about 'Gentile dogs'" (Barclay), the woman willingly accepted such an insult and persisted with her request, and this invited the commendation by Jesus that she had great faith.

Indeed her faith was great, because in addition to having faith in the power of Jesus to heal, her persistence showed that she had faith in the compassion of Jesus. She knew the heart of God. If Jesus was God, He would definitely have compassion. Her faith in the love of God did not waver in spite of the apparent mean remark by Jesus.

Indeed, it might be easier to have faith in what God can do; it is far more difficult to trust in what God will do, especially when time drags on, and God does not seem to care, or even, in the case of this woman, God seems to turn hostile to us. But this Canaanite woman believed that what God can do, God will do.

The rise of the historical and grammatical approach to exegesis has certainly enriched our understanding of the Scripture, but at the same time, it has opened a flood gate for skeptics to shed doubts upon the inspired Word of God. Most unfortunately, such skeptics have expanded beyond the liberal realm into the Evangelical.

A case in point is the view taken of the miracle of the feeding of the 4,000 in Matthew 15. As Lenski bemoans, "Some modern interpreters regard the accounts of the two feedings of multitudes as, in reality, of the same incident. But there are differences in time, place, number fed, number of loaves, of fishes and of baskets full left over." (Lenski, Matthew, 602)

To me, the strongest evidence is the fact that Mark makes it unmistakably clear that the two were separate incidents in Mark 8:19-20.

The study of the original language, cultural and historical settings of biblical times is important to us, who are far removed from those times, in order to gain a deeper and more accurate understanding of the teachings, the narratives, the parables and the prophecies which the Holy Spirit has inspired the authors to commit into writing. But all these scholarly pursuits have to be done with an attitude of humility and faith — humility so that we are not critiquing the Word of God, but rather judging whatever information we have discovered through our human wisdom (needs to be judged) by the Word of God instead; and faith in that the authors of scripture were indeed inspired by the Holy Spirit and thus, "not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear" from the Word of God, and that nothing can be added or taken away from the Bible. (Matt. 5:18; Rev. 22:18-19)

Unfortunately, as scholars and Bible teachers continue to flaunt their skeptical wisdom over the Scripture in seminaries and in the pulpits, the first thought that comes to the mind of many lay Christians when confronted with scriptural passages that appear to be hard to understand or are in apparent conflict with logic is, "Maybe, my version of translation is incorrect", or worse, "The manuscripts must be corrupted."

The best attitude, as far as I am concerned, is to take the Scripture as it is. While I still exhaust my intellectual faculty in analyzing its contents and consulting reliable and godly resources, I humble myself and pray to the Holy Spirit –– the original author, "Lead me into Thy truth." Most of the time, the Holy Spirit opens my mind to see things that were there, but which I had failed to notice. But at other times, I still remain ignorant of the deeper meaning of the passage and I have come to thank God, because after all, He is not obliged to show me everything I want to know, but only things that I need to know.

It is interesting to read the comments of Jesus about the "little faith" of the disciples in Matthew 16 which took place shortly after Jesus' commendation of the great faith of the Canaanite Woman in chapter 15.

As it happened, the disciples forgot to bring bread for their journey. Whoever was responsible must have felt badly. So, when Jesus seized the opportunity to teach them an object lesson, not to chastise them of their negligence, but to warn them of a far more serious lesson of guarding against the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees, they became overly sensitive and misunderstood the intent of Jesus.

Instead of rebuking their defensive attitude, Jesus rebuked them of little faith. I believe here lies a relevant lesson that we should learn, especially when it comes to the understanding of what is more important in kingdom ministry.

Jesus always focuses on the heart. He worries that as much as He has relentlessly attacked the teachings of the Pharisees (whose sin was hypocrisy based on their outward observance of the law) and the teachings of the Sadducees (whose error was their stubborn objection to resurrection), Jesus knows that their errors would be like yeast and would spread even among those who would follow Him. His fear was not unfounded, as we learn that the idea of salvation by work and the doubt about resurrection were two of the most important apologetic concerns of the Apostle Paul. And yet, all that the disciples were concerned about was whether their negligence in bringing bread would make Jesus mad.

When Jesus rebuked them of little faith, He was in essence saddened by their misplaced focus. Bread, or for that matter any material need, should never be the focus on His followers. Our focus should always be on matters of the heart.

When a church or any Christian ministry spends much time and energy in addressing material needs or issues of that nature (often disguised as spiritual but which are administrative issues), we are repeating the same mistake of the disciples.

Allow me to the quote from Calvin's own words about the meaning of this difficult passage in Matthew 16:18-19 for our reflection today:

"The substance of this statement is, that Christ intended to assure his followers of the salvation promised to them in the Gospel that they might expect it as firmly as if he were himself to descend from heaven to bear testimony concerning it; and, on the other hand, to strike despisers with terrors, that they might not expect their mockery of the ministers of the word to remain unpunished. Both are exceedingly necessary; for the inestimable treasure of life is exhibited to us in earthen vessels (2 Co. 4:7,) and had not the authority of the doctrine been established in this manner, the faith of it would have been, almost every moment, ready to give way…

"This is a great honor, that we are God's messengers to assure the world of its salvation. It is the highest honor conferred on the Gospel, that it is declared to be the embassy of mutual reconciliation between God and men (2 Co. 5:20.) In a word, it is a wonderful consolation to devout minds to know that the message of salvation brought to them by a poor mortal man is ratified before God. Meanwhile, let the ungodly ridicule, as they may think fit, the doctrine which is preached to them by the command of God, they will one day learn with what truth and seriousness God threatened them by the mouth of men. Finally, let pious teachers, resting on this assurance, encourage themselves and others to defend with boldness the life-giving grace of God, and yet let them not the less boldly thunder against the hardened despisers of their doctrine…

"But it will be said, Christ addresses Peter alone: he does so, because Peter alone, in the name of all, had confessed Christ to be the Son of God, and to him alone is addressed the discourse, which applies equally to the rest. And the reason adduced by Cyprian and others is not to be despised, that Christ spake to all in the person of one man, in order to recommend the unity of the Church."

(Excerpts from Calvin's Commentary, Vol. XVI. pp. 294-296)

When the famous quarterback, Randall Cunningham considered joining a football team, he went to his pastor for his opinion. His pastor, when being interviewed years later, said, "He asked the wrong person."

I admire the honesty and humility of this pastor and I hope we, pastors, and especially those who minister to others as spiritual directors will take heed.

More and more, we who are in the role of counselors, feel the pressure to give answers to those who come for advice. The truth of the matter is, unless it is about choices of a moral nature, we do not know God's will in the lives of other people. All we should do is to listen, to pray with the consulter and give them pointers according to common sense and/or biblical principles.

But I have come across more and more cases in which pastors or spiritual directors are bold enough to tell the consulters what they should do, as if they do have a hotline with heaven above. This is not only arrogance, but it is dangerous. Yes, ultimately the consulter has to own up to their own decision, but for the pastor or spiritual mentor to give more than pointers, is irresponsible. The danger is not only to the consulter as we become their stumbling block to the will of God, but to us too, because we have chosen to play God.

Part of the reason, I am afraid, is not so much the arrogance of the spiritual mentor, but the succumbing to popular culture which demands answers and results as a sign of competence. Henry Nouwen is right, we have nothing to offer, except our vulnerable self.