(
1 SM 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1 PS 21:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 MK2: 13-17)
I was heading out on a routine Saturday afternoon errand run when I asked my husband if he wanted to come along for the ride.
“Well now, that depends,” he said, diverting his attention from the television. “Where are you going?”
I threw out the name of a local shopping hub, but I didn’t go into a lot of detail. I knew that if I told him my exact itinerary and how many stops I planned to make, he would opt to stay at home and binge watch martial arts movies. Quite frankly, I wanted the company so I adopted a less-is-more approach.
It worked. He slid his feet into a pair of sneakers, grabbed his coat and hat and gamely followed me out to the car. However, before I could back out of the driveway, curiosity got the better of him. “Exactly where are we going?” “How long will this take?” “What are we getting?” “Why are you going here instead of there?”
I have a notoriously short fuse so naturally, it didn’t take long for me to snap. I informed him that I did not bring him on this field trip so that he could question my every move or second guess my entire plan. After all, he was only holding down furniture when I came along so it wasn’t like he was doing anything important. Where did he get off trying to micromanage the whole operation now that he was in a moving vehicle? “Can’t you show a little bit of faith in me and just go along with the program without interfering?” I asked.
“Yes, I can,” he replied, remaining silent for the rest of the trip.
I felt terrible. I couldn’t very well get too mad at him when I hadn’t given him all of the facts in the first place. Deep down I knew if I had told him my entire plan for the day, there was little chance he would want to accompany me and if I wanted someone who understood the subtle art of retail therapy, I would have called a girlfriend. Instead, I chose to spend time with him and that meant enduring his endless questions without blowing my top in the process. Just as Jesus does for me.
Although the Gospel writers often paint a portrait of perfect obedience when it comes to the early followers of Christ, chances are they were a lot like my husband and didn’t get too far down the road before critiquing His plan or trying to micromanage the movement. Jesus understood that and took them as they were, without losing His temper. He knew these were not devout, faith-filled people but flawed folks with a lot of issues. Issues He was willing to endure as long as in the end, they came along for the ride.
