Discover His heart: He longs to share His wisdom and deep secrets with us
My husband recently purchased a Kindle for me, a nifty little electronic book that is less than one-fourth of an inch thick yet holds an entire library of reading. I must admit that I love the feel and weight of tangible books, flipping through those pages and smelling the ink; but at the time of purchase, the Kindle was ideal for my travel. It was a used Kindle, so after reading through the manual, I deleted most of the previous library, not really interested in Sci-Fi and horror.
My mind was having trouble getting around the concept of adding books to this little device because surely the process would be complicated and filled with technical lingo. To my amazement, in two or three clicks, using very familiar terms to me like purchase and select, my new book was there on my Kindle in black and white. I did my best to make the process more complicated than it really was because sometimes it’s difficult to accept that something of worth could be so simple to attain. Paul wrote about this very thing in our reading today.
@ I Corinthians 1
“Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.” (21-23)
The Gospel is uncomplicated: John 3:16 – God loved, God gave. We believe, we receive. For the intellectuals who were the Greek philosophers of Paul’s day, this message was foolish and too simple to be true. For those with a religious background, the Jews, this message was foolish and too simple to be of value. Doesn’t this sound familiar? So many neighbors and acquaintances through the years have looked down their long intellectual noses as I’ve shared the simple Gospel with them, and many religious people, those who have been christened or confirmed or catechismed, have no need for the truth I am sharing. Yet, if they will accept this simple Gospel, a door to wisdom will open for them that is so deep that only the Spirit can reveal its truths.
@ I Corinthians 2
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.” (9-10) The Gospel of salvation may be simple, but God’s deep secrets will never be understood without it.
With salvation come the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, and the ability to understand God’s Word and the secrets it contains. “And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.” (12)
We will never understand all the mysteries and depths of God’s wisdom while here on earth, but those recorded in the Bible, at the very least, are available to us through His Spirit – His love for us, His intentions, and His direction. Isn’t that what the early Greeks and Jews were seeking in all their philosophical debates and teachings? Isn’t that what people everywhere today are seeking? Love, purpose and direction? And it all begins with acceptance of the simple Gospel – God loved, God gave. We believe, we receive. Simple but priceless.
Moving Forward: I will continue to seek out through the Spirit the revelation of His wisdom, the mind of Christ. And I will continue sharing the simple Gospel, undaunted by the intellectuals and religious, and finding those hearts that desire to learn God’s deep secrets.
Tomorrow @ Genesis 32-35
Phyllis Benigas 