BY REV. BOB GILBERG
The Olive Branch Community Church of Firebaugh
Is it not amazing the marvels of man? In this, I am speaking about the male species. Men have an amazing sense of direction. We never need to ask how to get from point A to point B; we always arrive at our intended destination.
It may take an extra two hours, but we will eventually get there.
Likewise, men are amazing because we never need to read instructions. We can simply look at the many parts of an unassembled item and instinctively know how to put it together.
We may have to disassemble and reassemble it two or three times, but eventually it will look like the picture on the box.
I remember when I saved enough money to buy my first stereo. It was a Pioneer system with separate components, a stereo rack and two large speakers. I was so excited to assemble it. I quickly opened the box and spread the pieces across the floor. I picked up the instructions, quickly cast them aside, and began to assemble my new stereo.
However, in my zealousness, I reversed the two side panels. Rather than having a nice veneer wood finish on the front of my new stereo, the raw particleboard was exposed front and center. It was functional, but it did not look very nice.
When my father saw my mistake, he made me take it apart and reassemble it.
It took twice the time to assemble my new stereo because I did not read the directions. The truth is, men do not have a natural sense of direction. Thank-God for GPS! Likewise, we do not know how to assemble everything intuitively; knowledge needs to be imparted to us before we will become proficient in life, before we develop competency or skill.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he said to His disciples, “These are my words that I spoke while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law and the Prophets must be fulfilled. Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,” Luke 24:44-45.
Divine understanding comes from God. In Greek, ‘to open’ means to open thoroughly and completely. It is not like the early morning hours of Christmas when you shake your presents and look under the wrappings to discover your gifts.
Rather, it is like when all the family is gathered together and you rip the paper off, tearing open the box, as you thoroughly uncover the mystery and wonders of your gift.
But the context of Jesus’ words is deeper than this. The Greek word translated as ‘to open’ means to ‘open fully by completing the process necessary to do so.’ When I assembled my stereo, I did not follow the necessary process. My work was in vain. I had to undo what was done and start over.
We have been given basic instructions before leaving Earth. The Bible. All we need to do to gain understanding on how to live a life pleasing to God is to read the instructions we have been given. They are beautifully simple and wonderfully complex.
The simple is easy to understand. The Scripture tells us that if you forgive others, you will also be forgiven by your Father who is in heaven; if you do not forgive others, neither will you be forgiven (Matthew 6:14-15).
This is not difficult to understand. But there are deeper mysteries contained within the Bible. If you want to understand these teachings, it takes more than a cursory reading. It takes meditation and prayer.
From Joshua 1:8, we are instructed in this way: “This Book shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. Then you will make your way prosperous, then you will have good success.”
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul prays to God for the church to be given spiritual wisdom and insight to grow in the knowledge of God (Ephesians 1:17). This knowledge is best understood as a “contact-knowledge” or a “first-hand, experiential knowing.”
Through this personal, intimate, first-hand knowledge of God, we come to understand His nature and purpose for our lives. This kind of knowledge comes through divine revelation and the work of the Holy Spirit. It comes when we spend personal time with the One who created us. The truth is most men do not know how to assemble things intuitively. I learned this from experience. In the same way, I have come to know that if we are to live a life that is pleasing to God, we must grow in our knowledge and understanding of Him, which happens when we spend personal time in the Word and prayer with One who created us.
