Correct Answer, Wrong Test
The Jerusalem Council had a question no one had faced before, and someone could have opened the Torah and found the "correct" answer. That is not what happened. A reflection on Acts 15:1–21.
Acts 15:1–21
Phrases that spoke to me today:
• "it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us"
• after there had been much debate, Peter stood up
• the assembly fell silent
Applying the Word to My Life:
We tend to be focused on finding the "correct" answer to anything in life, but the truth is that we usually have more than one good choice. The real question is what is the best path forward. The Jerusalem Council faced exactly that kind of question.
Christianity was born out of Judaism. But the question was whether or not the Law of Moses applied to Christians — did someone have to become Jewish to become Christian? Both paths made sense. Someone focused on finding the answer could have opened the Torah and made the argument from Leviticus. That would have been technically correct. It also would have missed the point entirely.
James listens. He hears Peter's testimony, and Paul and Barnabas's account of what God has been doing among the Gentiles. Then James renders a judgment no one had fully articulated going in — a path that honors both the Jewish tradition and the new thing God is doing. Not a split-the-difference compromise. The faithful path.
The gift of counsel is not about finding the correct answer. It is about discerning the faithful path — what God is actually asking of his people in this specific, unrepeatable situation.
As a lawyer, I get to see this in action every day. Any lawyer can work through the case law, build the argument, and make the case. That is important — but it is probably the smallest part of what the job actually requires.
The question I spend most of my time on is not what clients can do, it is helping them discover what they should do. This is the harder work of sitting down with someone and helping them understand the full picture of what they are facing. What does the road ahead actually look like? What does winning cost, and what does walking away cost? The decision is always theirs. My job is to make sure they see what they are choosing before they choose it.
The gift isn't confined to professional life. In my own life, counsel arrives when I am slow enough to pay attention — when I notice the person being overlooked at the edge of a room, or the man on the street who needs money for food. The Spirit does not always arrive through deliberation and debate. Sometimes it is just a nudge toward the next faithful thing, if I have gotten still enough to feel it.
Counsel is being receptive enough to ask, in the moment: what is the faithful thing to do here? Not the correct thing. Not the obvious thing. The faithful one.
That question works in a council room in Jerusalem. It works in a client meeting. It works on a sidewalk. The gift is not a guarantee of the right answer — it is a disposition toward God's guidance in whatever specific situation you are actually in.
If we can focus on choosing the faithful path, it gives God room to make sure the choice is right.
My Response for Today:
Today, for one decision instead of asking for the correct answer, I will seek the faithful path.