Slow to Understand

Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread?  Do you still not see or understand?  Are your hearts hardened?  Mark 8:17 (TNIV)

The human being is an amazing work of art.  The body and the mind have many intricate systems that wonderfully function to achieve marvelous results.  We may feel about ourselves but the truth is that we are not running to full potential.  There are some functions which are just not working within us.  The fact that they lie dormant makes us unaware that they even exist.  This makes it very difficult for us to have them quickened to life.

God´s intentions for us and where we are currently are not quite on the same page.  God created us and designed us for purposes and status which we have yet to attain.  He asks us to see and know things that we just don´t know we have within us the ability to do.  We see with our earthly eyes and think that they are the only eyes we have.  But listen to Jesus for a while and we start to get the sensation that we are not seeing the whole picture.  He constantly encourages us to start exercising and engaging senses which we are not that familiar.

Jesus wanted us to walk by faith, not by sight.  Faith just hasn´t been accepted into our familiar five senses that we traditionally depend upon here on earth.  Yet our Savior speaks as if we should turn to faith before even these other senses.  Perhaps it would be more beneficial to direct our attention to the fact that these hidden qualities exist.  We might split fine hairs in trying to define them where our time might be better spent knowing that they exist and then listen to Jesus to learn to activate them.

His whole life Jesus was trying to open our understandings to the fact that there was more going on than what we commonly see and accept.  He wanted to bring our attention to a shining kingdom which was not distant and removed, but lying just beyond our powers to perceive it.  This kingdom and ours is maintained and overseen by a loving, intelligent being we call God.  He is forever trying to communicate with us and draw us into an intimate and highly beneficial relationship.

Jesus caught the Disciples discussing the fact that they had not brought bread along with them.  He could not believe that they were still so blind.  Why could they not see?  How come they were so slow to understand?  He asked them.  Then He patiently tries to walk them through it all again.  He asks them if they remember the feeding of the five and four thousand.  How many loaves of bread and how many fishes did it take? Then He asks them how many basketfuls they collected afterwards.  They still did not understand!  Do we?

It is time that we each stop a moment and consider just how much we are seeing.  We should take a good hard look and try to see just which senses we are using.  Are we leaning on our familiar senses?  Or are we beginning to understand Jesus as He tries to instruct us?  Are the lines of the heavenly kingdom becoming increasingly more defined?  Are the things of the Spirit beginning to take shape?  Is God looming more and more into vision while all the former things we sense are fading out of focus?  Are Jesus´ words telling us of bread we brought or did not bring?  Just how much of ourselves and this world do we still cling to?

Dear Jesus, set a spark of awareness within us today.  We want to see You and Your shining kingdom.  We want to see clearly the things of the Spirit.  If we must let go of our love for our surroundings, let it be so.  Show us how to start exercising faith and any other sense still left for us to recognize so that we may start to see and start to understand.  We are tired of only seeing this passing world and would like to see You.

Amen