Happy Summer Monday Morning,
Doubtless every attorney has heard the story of the country lawyer in Louisiana who was asked by the government to certify the title to a tract of land upon which was to be built a defense plant. The lawyer ran the title back to 1803 and sent his report to the Defense Department. In a few days he received a letter from the government’s legal advisor asking for proof prior to 1803. The old lawyer responded with this letter:
Gentlemen:
I note your comment upon the fact that record of title sent you as applying to the land under consideration dates only from the year 1803 and your request for an extension of the records prior to that date. Please be advised that the government of the United States acquired the territory, including the tract to which your inquiry applies, by purchase from the government of France in 1803. The government of France acquired title by conquest from the government of Spain. The government of Spain acquired title by discovery of one Christopher Columbus, traveler and explorer, under the sponsorship of her majesty, the Queen of Spain. The Queen of Spain received her sanction of reign by the consent of the Pope, a representative of Jesus Christ, the son and heir apparent of the Almighty God; and the Almighty God made Louisiana. I trust this complies with your request.
I have nothing but admiration for the wit and humor of that Louisiana lawyer. He evidenced a knowledge of law, history, and theology as well as an appropriate way to put a governmental bureaucrat in his place. Nevertheless, I’m not completely out of sympathy with the government attorney’s request. There is good reason to have a starting point beyond question.
This is especially true when it comes to our belief in God. It won’t work to live with a faith that is secondhand. There comes a time for each of us when we have to construct our own creedal building, to decide for ourselves what we truly believe. There needs to be some bedrock principle which we can trust implicitly upon which we can build.
My suggestion is to seek a faith which can weather every argument, ancient and modern; one that can stand the test not only of the Bible but of intelligence; and one that can be defended against every foe. The best we know of God comes from all that is revealed in Jesus. Jesus said that God is like a shepherd who looks after his sheep. If one is lost, God never gives up the search for it. He tells us that God is like a father who loves his children and hears what we ask of him. Jesus tells us that God looks after the lilies of the field, the birds of the air, and that God cares for us. Not even a sparrow falls but that God attends its funeral, and God is no less careful with us.
I urge you to test these things, and I believe you will find them true. Many of us have, and we have always found Jesus to be right.
You can believe!
Bruce Jones, Pastor
Imagine Church
