Understanding the Bible ............. Parables 774

January 2004

At the beginning of this year, I was thinking about a pastor we once had who gave us a Scripture passage each January as our “Verse for the Year.” It seemed a good idea to give one to each of our children. As I prayed for our children and grandchildren, specific verses came to mind for each one. I put the verses on cards and, after explaining why, gave the cards to them.

Our youngest granddaughter, who has not yet considered Christianity, received John 3:16. When she read it, she looked at her older sister and said, “I don’t understand it. Do you understand yours?”

Her sister said she did. The younger one looked puzzled. “Do you understand mine?” When she got an affirmative response, she frowned again. Then her sister, who had accepted Christ some years before, said, “Just keep reading it. One day you will understand it.”

Without realizing it, she gave an incredibly wise response. Sometimes biblical realities can be explained, but with a verse as easy to understand as John 3:16, it seemed obvious that the younger one needed time for the Holy Spirit to open her eyes.

In 1 Corinthians 2, the Apostle Paul explains that God’s wisdom is hidden to the “natural” man. By this he means that God’s words are a mystery to those who do not have the Spirit of God living in them. He says we need to have them “revealed to us by His Spirit.”

I can vouch for that. When I was about thirteen, I decided a “real woman” read the Bible every day, just like my mother did. So I read it, but I didn’t understand any of it. Oh, I knew the meaning of the words, but they held no significance whatsoever. Further, I read it every day for about sixteen years, and still did not understand what it meant.

Finally, everything changed. In one day, one Scripture verse (in another book) jumped out at me. Suddenly I realized that Jesus was God, come in the flesh to die for my sins. At that moment, I believed in Him and gave my life to Him. At that moment, I also began to understand the Bible.

Now I also understand the problem I had not understanding it. For years, I was such a vain, proud person. I did everything right and no one else knew as much as I did. My life was in control and I controlled it. Then, it fell apart. My marriage failed. I was a failure. That perch was knocked out from under me. I could see things now that I could not see before. One thing I saw was that I did not do everything right. I needed help. I also realized I did not know everything. I needed both knowledge and wisdom. I started looking for it, but the book I was reading that day was about to take me in the wrong direction.

God, in His great wisdom and grace, decided to turn me around. He used the one verse of Scripture in that book to open my eyes. When I saw Him and realized what He had done for me, I tossed the book aside and began reading The Book with renewed enthusiasm and an understanding that had not been there before.

I know my granddaughters will be blessed by their verses for this year. While the younger one does not understand her verse, as the older one said, she will get it. Actually, knowing the way God works, that verse will eventually take hold of her!