Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty, neither do I exercise myself in great matters or in things too high for me. Psalm 131:1
Today’s text reminds me of the blind man who Jesus healed, who was being questioned by the religious leaders about his experience. To all their questions and challenges, he did not respond with lengthy explanations or arguments, but stated simply, ‘I was blind, and now I see’. That was all he needed to know and explain. During a ministry meeting in Fredericton some years ago, Carl Payne spoke about a preacher who gave his testimony every time he spoke, and never ventured very far from that message. Maybe it was all he knew, but he knew it well, and felt no need to move on to weightier issues of the faith.
It is good to hear a brother with the ability to expound Scripture, who can pull from the pages of the Book wonderful truths and thrilling revelations. Such men are to be treasured. But we can’t all do that. Nor should we try. We need to realize our limitations when it comes to teaching or explaining the Word. Within those limitations, we can tell what we know and explain what we understand. But we should not mess with things that are too high for us, or in today’s language, things that are over our head. But within our own spheres of ability, we can appreciate and enjoy most of the wonderful blessings of the Book.
For all its wisdom that transcends the greatest minds of earth, and all of its deep subjects that the giants of the faith recognize they have barely scratched, the Bible is brimming with precious truths and sweet morsels to delight the souls of the humblest and least experienced student. Simple lessons of faith and obedience are everywhere, and details of the bountiful blessings of God are available to every seeker. Sometimes, the Holy Spirit leads us into deeper truths and richer understanding. But He begins as we feed ourselves on the surface and instructs us as we grasp what is readily available.
There is a good reason why we should always begin with the simple basics of the Word, and allow God to unfold more to us as He will. As David points out in our text, he was not proud. Like David, let us never be proud of our great grasp of spiritual truths. Because even the greatest minds studying God’s Word are but fools compared to the One who would teach us.
Our understanding of the greatness of Scripture will keep us humble. And it’s only the humble who God teaches. -Jim MacIntosh