1 John 5:6-12
What do the following have in common? A narrator on an IMAX film; a physiotherapist; the writer of an article about the Olympics; a voice on the other end of a help line; and a mechanic at a garage. They are all people whose testimony or words I trusted this past week. We went to see the film Jerusalem in the IMAX at the Science Center. The narrator made several claims about the origin and naming of Jerusalem. I chose to believe most of his claims despite never having met the man. I’m getting physiotherapy for my back. The therapist gave me several instructions and exercises to do over the next few weeks. I barely know this therapist but I have chosen to trust their words and follow the instructions. I read an article about the Olympics. I chose to believe most of what the article said without checking too many sources. It sounded reasonable and possible. I’ve never met the author but I chose to trust their words. I was driving along Giroux Road when my car suddenly conked out. I was in the center lane of the road. So I pulled out my little AMA card. After a few minutes the voice on the other end of the line said “we will send a tow truck.” I’d never talked to this person before. But I chose to trust them. Thankfully, I got my car going in a couple of minutes so I cancelled the tow truck. But I did call a mechanic at the garage. I know him a little. He gave me some advice about the car. I chose to trust his words.
Now my life was not at risk in these situations. If one of them shared unreliable information, it wouldn’t have drastically affected me. With higher stakes, like a lot of money or a risk to our home or family or even life, I would put more effort into checking out the reliability of the people talking to us. But I simply wanted to illustrate that we all depend on and accept the testimony of other people in varying degrees every week.
