INSPIRATION OR UNDERSTANDING

 

"Understanding is a fountain of life to those who have it."

Proverbs 16:22

 

I was experiencing a day when I was caught up in my questioning. The question was, do I truly understand what the word of God is saying? Now to many, they may answer that with a quick, "Of course I do." I have been reading the Bible almost every day for close to fifty years now; I would hope I had some understanding of what it says.

            In talking to a friend about this, I began to see things differently. First, knowing the Scriptures does not mean we understand them. The famous automotive engineer Charles Kettering (1876-1958) said, "Knowing is not understanding. There is a great difference between knowing and understanding: you can know a lot about something and not really understand it."

            Many look at Scripture that way. They think that because they know some verses by heart that they understand them, but do they? Is it understanding you have, or does a verse inspire you? "What's the difference?" you may ask. Many Scriptures are inspiring, and that is fine and good in its place. The thing with inspiration is it comes and goes. What may inspire you today and make you feel good may do nothing for you tomorrow.

            On the other hand, understanding makes a permanent difference in your life. Once you understand something, you can never be ignorant to it again, which may be the very reason why many do their best to stick with being inspired rather than to understand.

            Let's look at an example. Take John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life." All Christians know this verse. We share it freely with everyone with who we share the Gospel. We have it on T-shirts and signs; some even have it tat-tooed on their bodies. It inspires us and makes us feel good. It is non-threatening and comfortable. It is an all-around excellent and useful Scripture. But do we understand it?

            If we understood it, we might feel differently about it. If we truly understood God's love that caused Him to give His only Son to die for us, would it not change our behavior forever. It is one thing to know we are loved; it is another to know that someone died so we could live. And if we genuinely believed that all who believed in Him could have eternal life, would we not make sure that everyone knew this? What about our loved ones? Would we rest until we made sure they believed in the Son of God?

            I by no means have come to understand the marvilous word of God fully, but I have come to see that it is never to be taken lightly.

 

You can learn more about Personal Development from the author and speaker, John Patrick Hickey. To get his books, training material, or book him to speak to your church, business, or group, visit our website: www.growthcenter.net.    © 2022 John Patrick Hickey. No part of this material may be reprinted or published without the author's written permission.