Mediator

What mediates between you and God?

That question was posed to a group of around 1,200 college students at this year's 20/20 conference at SEBTS. It was the last of three questions under the heading of "We are most often enslaved by that which we love." The other two questions were also poignant but this question hit me. You see I was raised in a home with both parents who loved the Lord. They took me to church and I loved it. I was very active in church activities and even invited my friends to church and told them about Jesus on my own.

One of my friends that I shared Jesus with was Catholic. She was one of my first friends in my new town as a 6th grader. I can't recall if they were active in their church or not but I can recall one conversation that we had at my house. We were talking about God and stuff. I couldn't understand why she would have to go to a priest to talk with God. I mean, as best as I understood, we could just talk with God. He is everywhere. He forgives our sin. He is our friend. I didn't need someone else to talk with my friends for me so why did I need someone else to talk with God for me?

But did I really believe that I could talk with God on my own?

When I was little I told my teacher that my dad ran the church. He didn't, he was just there all the time. But I thought he ran the church. Because my dad "ran the church" I trusted him with everything. I mean, what he said was truth and I never doubted it. Now, it's not a bad thing to believe your father's words but I took it one step further. I never searched the scripture for myself. I would read along with the pastor as he would read his Sunday passage and preach. But I never investigated further the depths of God's Word. I did my Bible study and sat in my discipleship groups and participated in discussion in Sunday School but I did it all through the lens of my parents' or pastor's or Bible study leaders' word. So in much the same way I was putting them in place as my mediator.

1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time."

Hebrews 4:14-16 "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

Romans 8:26 "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."