I have to admit that all too often I’m like the disciples of Jesus when it comes to spiritual things… I just don’t get it! Jesus sometimes marveled at their inability to grasp the truth He shared because of their “hardness of heart!”
A picture comes to mind to illustrate this… PJ, one of our sons, struggled to comprehend a math concept when he was in elementary school. His mother would work tirelessly with him, patiently going over it again and again, explaining every step of the process. I’d watch and marvel at her patience… her skill… the different approaches she’d use to accommodate the truth to his ability and understanding. Finally he’d exclaim, “Oh I get it now!” and he’d work his way through the problem to his (and her) delight! On one occasion, I remember myself grinning as PJ told his mom, “I wish YOU were my teacher… then I’d get it!”
This morning’s passage in my Bible reading reminded me of the scene I’ve just described…
“As it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit! For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God… No one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned… But we have the mind of Christ.”
So this is my prayer… “Oh Lord, help me to understand what You’re trying to teach me!” This passage assures me He will – and the Holy Spirit will be my patient teacher until “I get it!”
Coffee With The Lord 