Uncle Dave's Bob Dylan CD

My youngest brother, Wyman, is a big fan of Bob Dylan's music.  His collection of tunes is really quite impressive! If you want to know anything about this musical icon, just ask Wym.

I, on the other hand, never really got that into Dylan earlier in my life.  I didn't have any specific problems or hang-ups with him at all.  He was just not a singer I ever though much about.

But one day I received a package in the mail from Wyman.  I opened it up and found a cd inside.  It turned out that my good brother actually put together a collection of Dylan's best songs.

On the cd was a picture of Bob Dylan and this message:  "Uncle Dave's One And Only Bob Dylan CD With Songs Lovingly Selected By His Brother Wyman Lewis Richardson From Various Bob Dylan CD's, January 2005".  What an awesome surprise and gift that was!  And after listening to it, I grew to like Dylan's music too.

When it comes to songs by any singer, we get to focus on what we like and ignore what we don't like.  We can make our own "greatest hits" albums by picking and choosing what suits us.  It all depends on what makes us feel good.

When it comes to doctrines and theological truths about God, however, we do not get to focus on what makes us comfortable and ignore what makes us squirm.  We don't get to pick and choose what we like and accept about Him.  Everything the Bible says about Him is true, and it all needs to be accepted into our belief system.

For instance...

We like to focus on the love of God, but we must also remember His wrath.

We like to focus on God being a Father, but we must also remember He is a judge.

We like to focus on God forgiving us, but we must also remember He disciplines us.

See the point?

We get to choose what suits us about Bob Dylan or any other singer, and we then can ignore the parts that don't suit us.  But we do not have the freedom to do that when it comes to God.  We have to take all of Him as He is.

Let's be complete and thorough when it comes to building our belief system about God.  Let's not build a smorgasbord theology of picking and choosing a "little bit of this" and a "little bit of that."  Let's accept embrace and celebrate all truths about God.