All people are like grass …
Summary: God doesn’t just tell us what to do and not do, he also takes the time to explain why it is important.
In our last meditation, we looked at what it means to help a blind person find their way. Then we imagined that we were the blind person and God was helping us find our way. This, of course, is exactly the situation we find ourselves in.
In our metaphor of a blind person, there were two kinds of help that we discussed. One was the hand at the elbow of the person being led, and the other was the words of instruction in the ear. Because we are sighted, even though we are born spiritually blind (John 3:3-7), we receive guidance from God through his Word (2 Timothy 3:16) and his Spirit (John 14:26).
Both of these are real things. The Word is the Bible. In it, we find instructions from God in the form of “do’s” and “don’t’s.” God tells us to love him above all else, and then he tells us how to do that. The first “do” is to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). Another way of saying this is “do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12). Throughout God’s Word the message is very consistent: “Do” things that honor God, “Don’t do” things that dishonor God. This is God’s will.
Are you confused about what God means? He is happy to explain. God says, “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3)
Still confused? Jesus says, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Luke 16:13)
If you don’t understand why this is important, God’s Word says this:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” (Matthew 25: 31-33)
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matthew 25: 46)
We tend to think that it is the things of this world that are important. And they are… in this world. But this world does not last forever, and our lives are like grass:
“All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of the Lord endures forever.” (1 Peter 1:24-25)
In the end, what is truly important is the very thing we are blind to; eternity.
Application: Act as if this life ends today and eternal life begins tomorrow.
Food for Thought: Why do people find the Bible confusing?
Some may find the Bible confusing because they are not yet believers indwelt with the Holy Spirit. I once had several conversations with a man who said he didn’t understand the Bible at all. In time he committed his life to Christ, and suddenly the Bible made sense to him. John 14: 26; John 16: 13 – 15.
Likewise, some may not understand the Bible because they have yet to be familiar with it enough. The more we read, meditate, study, the better the grasp of its truths. Psalm 119: 97 – 104.
Thank you, brother!
Great verses! And excellent wisdom! I remember the time when my thinking shifted and I understood that the Bible was written exactly as God wanted it to be written. When that happened, it was like the scales fell from my eyes and I could see. Everything began to make sense and by God’s grace I continue to see more and more in his Word.
12-11-2022, Why do people find the Bible confusing?
Agree with Rich’s post.
I was one of those who did not understand the word of God when I was first called, I only knew I was bad, faced eternal separation into darkness, and I needed to get into church, which led to Bible Study Fellowship. After 6 weeks of studying the book of John with other Christian men, I chose to accept Christ. God will find a way for His truths to be understood. Our accepting or rejecting is our decision and we will reap the reward or consequences of our decision.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” Isaiah 55:8
Jesus Christ spoke in parables to reveal truth, especially about the kingdom of God, to those who followed him. Parables also concealed revelation from those who didn’t follow him. Jesus described the meaning of parables as “secrets” or “mysteries” that some could understand and others couldn’t.
Matthew 13:11-13
Ron,
Good point! The parables themselves are designed to get the message past our mental defenses. We can choose to be obtuse and argue with the delivery system (the parable itself) or we can open our hearts to the message within the parable. One results in confusion, the other plain meaning.
I agree with the above.
I’d also add that the Bible is confusing because people think it’s just dos and don’ts and then when they read it they think it’s contradictory. There is more history than lists of dos and don’ts. History is telling what people (ahem, sinful people) do over the course of their lives. Hint, even the good ones sin.
They’re confused because they can only see snippets. ‘God just destroyed a nation, how can He be good?’ ‘ women and children and livestock too?’ ‘blood avenger’ ‘Sarah is his sister!’
If you don’t see the context, if you don’t see how long God waited, if you don’t understand different times in history, then yeah, the Bible is confusing.
Angela,
As Rich would say, ‘A text without a context is a pretext.’ Interestingly, a pretext is not just a characteristic of a zealous believer, but also describes the zealous unbeliever. A text taken out of context is also a pretext.