A Thought

“Whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell.  And great was its fall!”  Matthew 7:24-27 NKJV

Biblical theology can be tricky because we each read and interpret the Scriptures with a certain set of lenses according to our backgrounds, religious traditions, and the social and cultural environments in which we live and function; and each believes his or her interpretation to be the correct one.  Jesus, however, indicates there is only one way to interpret what He teaches – it is His way, for He is Himself “The Way”.  With the infighting going on within the Church universal, it is clear we do not yet have it quite right.

I would wish there was only one standard we could all understand and agree upon for the sake of the Mission of the Church, but this is not always possible nor will it always happen from the pulpit because preachers, pastors, and priests have their own sets of lenses, traditions, and experiences as well.  The bottom line is that human interpretation will always be human interpretation.  This is not to say there is no value in what one sees because we each have something to offer, something to share.  It stops being so “tricky” when we realize none of us will be at the same point in our spiritual development.

Unfortunately, too many of us draw conclusions we are comfortable with, and we live it there.  We check it off the list of those things that need to be settled, and then we go on with our lives as if there is nothing more we can learn.  Discipleship, however, constantly challenges us to look deeper so we can learn more.  Ultimately it is the challenge and goal of discipleship that as we grow spiritually, we become more and more like Christ Himself rather than becoming our own personal version of Him.

Disciples must never settle nor do we “graduate”; rather we “commence” onward.  We may be confident in a certain way for a certain time, but we must also be aware that our Lord is continually teaching and transforming us.  While on this earth and in these mortal bodies and with the inherent limitations of our human minds, we must allow ourselves to be open to new experiences and new perspectives.  Surely we can appreciate the fact that a 10-year-old child will not be the same person at 25 years of age!  The same is true of our spiritual selves; a new Christian with 10 years of experience will not be the same Christian at 25 years of discipleship.

Let us open ourselves to the reality that our Lord will do what He will do with us only when we are open to new visions, new epiphanies, and new insights not only so that we may grow in our confidence of faith but so we can help to equip others as they grow.  It is our Father’s “good pleasure to give you the things of the Kingdom” – if it is the Kingdom we earnestly “seek first”.

Blessings,

Michael