I was reading and came across a word I didn’t know. That’s normal. So I looked it up. But I couldn’t understand the words in the definition of the word I didn’t know. So I began looking up the words in the definitions of the first word only to discover I did not understand the words defining the words that defined my first word. With my self-esteem shattered I gave up and still do not know the meaning of the first word. Therefore, I promise not to attempt to use it lest everyone realize just how illiterate I am. Please don’t unsubscribe to my mailing list because I am too ignorant for you to waste your time reading.
I feel like Peter trying to understand Paul. “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand.” II Peter 3:15-16
If you struggle with some passages in Romans or Hebrews do not despair. You are not alone. Fortunately we are not saved by how much knowledge we have. That would be righteousness by smarts. Obviously there are beings in heaven still grappling with the intricacies of salvation. In Ephesians 3 Paul speaks about our experiences here teaching authorities in heavenly realms. We grow impatient because we do not understand why Jesus doesn’t return and why there is a continuation of so much pain on earth. We are not alone in not grasping the entirety of all that is at stake.
One thing is for sure. Jesus will return for us the very second He can.
Written by Roger Bothwell on June 9, 2014
Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org