THINK ABOUT IT

I love numbers, but they need to be straight forward:  add, subtract, multiply and divide.  Give me a spreadsheet and I will find the missing penny.

On the other hand, I never was any good at math questions such as:  Train A leaves Chicago at 4:00 PM traveling 35 MPH and train B leaves Dallas at 6:00 PM traveling 40 MPH, what time will they arrive in Paris, France?  Yes, I know.  The tracks do not go to Paris, but for me the destination might as well have been that extreme.  I just did not get it.

I do, however enjoy a good ‘make you think’ question.

1.  Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?
2. What word in the English Language is always spelled incorrectly?
3. If you were running a race and passed the person in 2^nd place, what place would you be in now?

Do you know the answers to these?

I don’t know about you but sometimes I have problems understanding the Bible.  It is as if I am trying to figure out how the trains can get to Paris.  Other passages just do not make any sense.  They might as well be written in a foreign language.

Then there are passages, I have read and read and read.  Finally…..the light bulb comes on and bingo!  I get it.

Of course, there are many that are straight forward!  They add up.  They make sense the first time I read them.

The easy thing would be to keep reading the parts I understand, but, if I did that, I would become stagnate.  I would only learn a small portion of what the Bible has to teach me.  Therefore, (Love that word in the Bible.  Shows there is more to come.) I continue on.  I read and get excited when the light bulb shines and I finally get it.  I still struggle when directed to those passages that I do not understand.  I read, ponder, read again and know that someday, when I need that particular passage, I will understand it.

How about you?  Are you the same way?  Do you ever feel like you are just not smart enough or Christian enough to understand?  Other people get it.  Why can’t I?

Never fear!!! You are not alone.  Keep reading.  Pray for understanding.  Read a commentary.  Ask your minister.  Take a Bible study.  Remember, even the disciples did not get it.

Jesus said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you:  Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”  Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.  Luke 24:44-45

How do we learn?  We are open.  The hymn, Open My Eyes, That I May See, says it the best. 

Open my eyes, that I may see
Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.

Silently now I wait for Thee,
Ready my God, Thy will to see,
Open my eyes, illumine me,
Spirit divine!

Open my ears, that I may hear
Voices of truth Thou sendest clear;
And while the wave notes fall on my ear,
Everything false will disappear.

Silently now I wait for Thee,
Ready my God, Thy will to see,
Open my ears, illumine me,
Spirit divine!

Open my mind, that I may read
More of Thy love in word and deed;
What shall I fear while yet Thou dost lead?
Only for light from Thee I plead.

Silently now I wait for Thee,
Ready my God, Thy will to see,
Open my mind, illumine me,
Spirit divine!

Open my mouth, and let me bear,
Gladly the warm truth everywhere;
Open my heart and let me prepare
Love with Thy children thus to share.

Silently now I wait for Thee,
Ready my God, Thy will to see,
Open my heart, illumine me,
Spirit divine!

Now go forth and read!  God will do the rest.

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ANSWERS:

1. Mt. Everest.  It just was not discovered yet.
2. Incorrectly
3. You would be in 2^nd.  Well, you passed the person in second place, not first.