Understand: Thou Shalt Get a Clue
A comedian once said that all people are clueless once in a while, but some make a career out of it. To illustrate his point he told the story of three fellows who went off a bridge in a pick-up truck. The one that was driving rolled down the window and swam out, but the two sitting in the back drowned because they couldn’t get the tailgate down.
While such a story may amuse us, being spiritually “clueless” is not a laughing matter. Its one thing to be naïve about something; it’s an entirely different matter to be intentionally ignorant or unwilling to learn or unwilling to accept the truth. The Pharisees were like this; so much so that Jesus called them “fools and blind” (Matt. 23:17, 19; cf. Jn. 9:39-41). Yet, one does not have to be like the Pharisees to be spiritually clueless. One can almost hear the frustration in Jesus’ voice after He would give careful instruction to His disciples, only to realize that they didn’t have a clue what He was saying. He would say things like, “Are you still without understanding? Do you not understand…?” (Matt. 15:16-17) “How is it you do not understand…?” (16:11) Jesus was not belittling them; He was trying to get them to open their eyes and understand what the will of the Lord is. And that’s just what He’s still trying to do through His word today (cf. Matt. 7:21-27; 13:14-15; Jas. 1:21).
Friends, we are able to “read and understand” (2 Cor. 1:13). We are able to understand the truth (2 Tim. 3:15-16), therefore, there is no excuse for spiritual blindness. “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17).