Let's Cut to the Chase

Our three-year-old daughter has entered the “why” phase. Every statement or command to her is met with “why?” Some things are non-negotiable. I don’t always feel the need to answer her whys. When I refuse to answer, it’s usually a matter of teaching her to obey whether she has a reason or not. Other times I humor her and answer all of her why questions. It’s not a bad idea as an exercise for adults - asking yourself "why" as you speak and do things throughout the day. You really get to the bottom of things in a hurry. Here’s a sample conversation:

Me: “Good job. I really appreciate the way you said something nice to your brother.”
Her: “Why?”
Me: “Because it’s important that we are kind to one another.”
Her: “Why?”
Me: “Because it is what God wants us to do.”
Her: “Why?”
Me: “Because God loves us and wants what’s best for us.”
Her: “Why?”
Me: “Because He made us.”
Her: “Why?”

You can see that by asking “why” just four times for every statement you make, you can get to the heart of the matter. If we only just asked ourselves that question more often, we’d eliminate a lot of the gray areas. Things would be much more black and white. If my daughter ever asks you "why" about something, just skip all the formalities and go straight to the bottom line.

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I decided to join the community choir’s rehearsals for a Christmas cantata. It’s fun, and I get to see my grandma every week. As we were practicing tonight, I realized that these songs had so many of the same phrases, over and over again, and we sing them year after year. We sing the same carols every year, and there’s usually a “Mary” song thrown in. Some sentimental song with words that Mary probably would have felt and thought as she was preparing for her baby boy. You would think that we would get tired of these songs, sung year after year. Why don’t we?

The old, old story is never dull. No matter how many times we hear the name of Jesus, it never gets boring. All those familiar phrases are so dear. We’ve heard them a zillion times, but they’re never outdated.

Let’s cut to the chase: it’s all about Jesus.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
There's just something about that name
Master, Saviour, Jesus
Like the fragrance after the rain
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
Let all Heaven and Earth proclaim
Kings and kingdoms
Will all pass away
But there's something about that Name.