Dear Trekker,
Looking back, it is difficult at my age to recall the first Bible verse I memorized! No doubt it was John 3:16. What trekker does not know that verse? But shortly thereafter Proverbs 3:5-6 got locked into my psyche, never to depart: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” As I meditate on that verse even today, shivers run up and down my spine at the potential of such trust… and the limitations of our understanding.
Oh how we think we understand… oh how we seek to understand… oh, how our lack of understanding and misunderstanding leads us to stumble and leads us into trouble. Recently I have discovered in the Gospel of John this trust vs. understanding challenge, as it crops up in Jesus’ ministry leading right up to the tragic misunderstanding that fell on all Jerusalem between Palm Sunday and what we call today Easter Sunday.
It first came to my attention while reading the story of Nicodemus in John 3. Now Nicodemus was an honest chap, probably very wealthy, a member of the ruling body of the Jews who was mostly seeking truth. When Jesus said to him, “I tell you the Truth (my friend, Nicodemus), no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again” (or literally, born from above), Nicodemus replied, “How can a grown older man (like me) enter his mother’s womb to be born a second time?” As I read Nicodemus’ response, it hit me… his understanding is so limited, he is so out of touch with Jesus’ reality, he appears extremely foolish, almost dumb! His misunderstanding reveals the limits of human receiving and the danger of not seeing beyond literal meanings.
Jesus is kind, patient, understanding and does not insult the dignity of Nicodemus, simply saying matter-of-factly, “I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe when I speak of heavenly things?” Oh, how our limited understanding can prevent us from comprehending divine truth!
In the next chapter of John you have the story of the Samaritan woman at the well encountering a thirsty Jesus. He asks for a drink of water, and when she dodges the question because a Jew is asking a Samaritan for a favor, he reminds her that if she knew who was speaking to her, she would ask him for living water, and he would have given her God’s gift, “living water.” But she wants this water so she won’t have to return to the well! She doesn’t get it! Her understanding is so limited to just the meaning of Jesus words, she, like Nicodemus, appears agonizingly slow!
The third time misunderstanding of Jesus’ words occurred to me recently was in John 8. Jesus told the Jews in Jerusalem (just a few weeks before the Passion), “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth (ergo because I am Truth personified) and knowing me will set you free” (John 8:31-32). Hearers of this were indignant! “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone! (Of course this was not true; the Jews were slaves to Pharaoh for 400 years.) How can you say that we shall be set free?” Once again, leaning on their own understanding instead of trusting the words of Jesus (and then seeking to understand on the basis of that trust), they totally missed the point.
Trekker, I have concluded anew that one major difficulty for mankind – for all of us – is to understand and fit together some of the things Jesus says, to see spiritual meaning deeper than literal words, to understand God’s timing and sequencing, etc. We must trust Him alone or we are doomed to miss it.
Seeing is not believing! Our eyes may deceive us. But believing is the beginning of seeing! When the man blind from birth was healed (John 9), Jesus encountering him a second time said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The man wisely did not dispute the question, simply asking Jesus, “Who is he sir… tell me so I may believe in him.” Jesus replied, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you now.” (I am certain Jesus had a broad smile on his face.) And the man replied, “Lord, I believe!” And John recounts, “He worshipped him (Jesus).”
Belief and trust are two sides of the same coin minted in heaven. We believe Jesus. We believe his words which we appropriately call promises. We believe and trust in His goodness and grace. And in trust, faith believing, we go forward, confident in Jesus alone, learning more about Him, His love and grace and mercy!
If lack of understanding sets in, and we can’t get past our own understanding, we are doomed. One of the saddest comments in all of Scripture is when the disciples explained to the stranger (Jesus) on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24), “We had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.” Why the sadness? Because that (redemption) is exactly what Jesus had done on the cross! He triumphed over death as he said he would! Hence, resurrection for Him and us, in Christ. (Romans 8:11; memorize it trekker, it is key.)
Our faulty understanding can lead to misunderstanding and a missed opportunity for eternity, not just a lifetime. Trekker, are you hearing only and not seeing? Trust! God is always there in the light of day, and the darkest of nights.
Your fellow trekker,
Jim Meredith
