From the Desk of Pastor Doug
Sometimes, I Just Do Not Get It.
There are times in my life that I look at something relatively simple and it just doesn’t worm its way through my skull, into parts of my brain that separate me from the lower forms of life, like slugs or amoebas. When we are kids, that is okay, its part of the learning process. Now, it is not so okay, and I fear its just another sign that I am losing it. For instance, when I was a kid, I remember the first time I heard the phrase “cereal killer”. It would be some time before I learned it was not being used as a description of me when we got a new box of Frankenberry and I tried to eat it all before the siblings woke up. I felt a little silly, but really, what would an elementary school kid from Sikeston, MO know about monsters who were serial killers. I also very vividly remember sitting in the living room with my parents watching the evening news. Walter Cronkite (he was the news at our house) reported a story from some mid-east Asian nation who were involved in an ongoing Gorilla War. Again, it would be some years before I realized that there are not armies of Lowland Gorillas warring with an army of Silverback Gorillas. I learned that the first time I ever saw the word guerilla in print. I was astonished, somewhat embarrassed but ultimately realized that it is part of the process of learning to navigate this life. We can all relate to the idea of misunderstanding simple words when it comes to lyrics of popular music. Feel free to comment on the misunderstood lyrics that you find most embarrassing in the comments. Recently, and I cannot write this off to learning to navigate life, my wife and I were playing a game of Scrabble. When it came to be her turn, she played on a “d” that was already down and spelled doing. Like what are you doing? I cracked up. I could not believe that she had spelled doing (hear a cartoon spring being released). She looked at me like I was plumb dumb and informed me that I was, indeed, an idiot. She was right. I felt a bit dumb. Then I remembered its okay because I am a bit dumb.
The Apostle Paul addresses this idea in scripture. The idea that when we are kids, we might not get things as well as when were older and more mature.
1 Corinthians 3
3 Dear brothers and sisters,[a] when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people.[b] I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you were not ready for anything stronger. And you still are not ready, 3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?
1 Corinthians 13
11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.[c] All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
Two things are important here. First, do not get frustrated when you do not understand something. Perhaps you do not understand because you just have not grown into the maturity that God thinks you are ready. It is like thinking cereal killer or gorilla warfare, when that is clearly not what is being said. The second thing is, DO NOT BE SATISFIED WITH WHAT YOU KNEW AS A CHILD! Sorry I raised my voice, but it is beyond frustrating when people who have been “lifetime” Christians still are mostly Biblically illiterate or just satisfied knowing what they know and not caring to keep following the trail to see where it might possible lead. We, frankly, are too easily satisfied. Long for the “solid food” that God has for you. Do not be stunted in faith but seek to grow, big and strong. Your faith is a journey, it is a relationship with Christ that must be tended and cultivated. Let God take you from what you know as a (spiritual) child to what you can know in your maturity.