June 6, 2019

I am a huge fan of country music. And one of my favorite artists is Eric Church. That’s because his music has filled some huge holes in my theological education.

His latest release is entitled Some Of It. It has to do with what we learn and how we learn it. The refrain is:

Some of it you learn the hard way

Some of it you read on a page

Some of it comes from heartbreak

Most of it comes with age

And none of it ever comes easy

A bunch of it you maybe can’t use

I know I don’t prob’ly know what I think I do

But there’s somethin’ to

Some of it

I truly think he’s right on the money. I’ve learned most everything the hard way: through books, pain, or just getting older.

If you looked at everything you know, everything you’ve ever learned, what would you say is the most important “Some of it.”? For me, it’s the realization that God is real and God is love. But I cannot tell you when I learned it.

For me, there has never been a flashing moment that confirmed God’s existence and that Jesus has saved me. Even though I know I am a Christian, I don’t know when I became one. And while some would say that in order to be saved, I have to be able to identify that particular moment, for me it’s easy. I was saved 2,000 years ago on a Friday afternoon. So were you.

While I don’t know much and don’t have many answers, I do have the answer that transcends everything else. Jesus is real. Jesus has saved. Jesus will come again. That’s the “Some of it,” that matters most. It’s all about Jesus.

Ultimately, everything in the cosmos revolves around Jesus. That’s why Paul says, “Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)

If you know Jesus, you know what matters most.

Prayer: Dear Gracious Heavenly God, thank you for letting me know your Son and his sacrifice on my behalf. Help me shine his light into lives filled with loneliness and pain. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Another part of the refrain I really like is where Eric Church sings, “A bunch of it you maybe can’t use.” This reminds me of the lie my math teacher told the class in high school when she said we’d use geometry every day. To put her comment in theological terms; baloney.

I pray your day is filled with joy and laughter.

Tom Robbins