Tom Kopp – Campus Pastor Glendale Campus 

Did your parents ever use that line on you?  Mine did!  I hated it when they used that line.  It seemed to me that it was just a cheap way of saying, “I don’t have a good reason for what I am asking (TELLING) you to do, so do it because I said so.”

I was sure that was why my parents used the phrase the entire time I was growing up.  It wasn’t until I was an adult and started using the phrase with my own children that I realized the phrase means far more than what I thought it meant as a kid.  As an adult I know the phrase has several meanings. 

It can mean, “I don’t have time to get into all the intricacies of why I want you to do this right now, so just try me right now and I will explain it to you in more detail later.”  At other times it means, “I explained this one 10,000 times already and I have no intention of explaining (or arguing with you about it) again.”  Most of the time when I have used it with my kids it has meant, “You will not be able to understand all of the implications of why I am asking you to do this, so you just need to trust me on this one.”

I am glad God never uses the phrase, “Because I said so!”  But there are lots of times when it would be appropriate based on our inability to understand all the implications of what he asks us to do in certain situations.  I am glad that I can trust God even on the things that don’t make complete sense to me, due to my limited understanding.  For instance, why does Jesus heal some people by putting mud in their eyes and he heals other people by saying stand up and walk.  It doesn’t matter.  The point is he healed them.  He healed them because they were willing to trust Him even when they didn’t fully understand.

I want to encourage you the next time God challenges you to do something trust Him enough to do it just because He said so.

Pastor Tom