"The people were amazed at His [Jesus'] teaching, because He taught them as one who had authority." – Mark 1:22
I will never forget the time I stopped by a Fannie May candy store while at Chicago's O’Hare Airport. I had gone in to buy my wife some candy and noticed another customer standing near the candy counter. She was an older woman with a bag, a bunch of gifts, and a little suitcase. The clerk behind the counter was waiting for her to decide what she wanted. I asked the sales clerk, "Do you have chocolate-covered nuts in one-pound boxes?"
Before the clerk could respond, the elderly woman answered, "Sure, they have chocolate-covered nuts in one-pound boxes. They also have them in two- and three-pound boxes, and they're very good."
Turning my back to the older lady, I asked the clerk, "By any chance, do you have turtles? You know the caramel and walnuts with chocolate over them. My wife loves turtles."
Again, before the clerk could answer, the busybody bystander said, "Oh, sure, they have the turtles in one-, two-, and three-pound boxes." She continued, "I suggest you buy a one-pound box of the Colonial assortment. It has chocolate-covered nuts, the turtles, and crèmes, too."
I tried to ignore the woman, but to no avail. She persisted. It was a very awkward situation until all of a sudden the woman said, "I have to go or I'll miss my plane." She quickly gathered her bundles and suitcase and walked out of the store. I breathed a sigh of relief as did the clerk who turned around and shouted to the back room, "Okay, girls, you can come out now. Fannie May is gone!"
I exclaimed, "Fannie May! That was Fannie May?" The clerk answered, "Yes. Her name is not actually Fannie May. Her husband died and left her a candy store. She decided that instead of feeling sorry for herself, she would invent some new chocolates. So she made up all of these recipes herself, opened more stores, and today she has 117 stores. All she does is fly around the country and check on her stores. She calls them her 117 children."
I had been looking to the sales clerk as the authority on chocolate when the real authority was standing right there! Similarly, many people look to Dr. Schuller or some other minister to interpret the Bible for them. But my counsel to you is this: Let Jesus Christ be the real authority of truth. In Him, you will find all the answers for life you need.
The sweetest delight in life is to experience Jesus Christ as your Real Authority.
* * * O God, You sent Jesus to earth and gave Him authority over all things. You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. There is no greater authority in life or in death than that. I trust in You!
