Matthew 11:25-26 (ESV)
At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
Yesterday we established that the Bible is indeed the Word of God. That the Almighty, Creator of the heavens and the earth has spoken to us, and He has done that through human agency. The other thing to establish about the Bible is that it is clear. In the words of Jesus above, clear enough for children to understand. And yet, the Scriptures can still be difficult to understand – to the wise and the learned. Put differently, it is those that approach the Scriptures with the humility of a child that gain maximally from them while those puffed up by knowledge continue to grope in the dark in as far as revelation is concerned.
Our God is a self-revealing God and He desires to be known by His children. Through the Bible, we have the privilege of knowing God beyond mere intellectual assent. This is done through our ordinary and routine practice of reading God’s Word but not without the illumination of the Holy Spirit. Through Him, we are taught all truth, guided into all truth, and reminded of the truth we have been taught (John 14:26; 16:13). No wonder the Psalmist prays, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” (Psalm 119:18). Prayer and the Word always go hand in hand.
Reflections
1. What are your thoughts about the clarity of the Bible?
2. How does this aspect of the Bible influence your attitude and action towards the Bible?
3. How do you deal with ‘difficult’ passages that you encounter while going through the Bible?
