S156P2 – Our good spiritual progress: his revelation
Lk. 8:9-10
And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'”
Learning a new language can be challenging, particularly if you start the process when you are older. Even for those who already know more than one language, it can be difficult. Not all languages have the same sounds or a common alphabet. Spanish is similar to Italian, but neither is anything like Japanese or Korean. One thing which helps is regular practice. You must keep learning new words, listening to native speakers and speaking it yourself. For most, if they hang in there long enough, they reach the moment when it all clicks. The words make sense when heard and come naturally when spoken. Like many disciplines, regular review will unlock knowledge.
Although it is important for us to remain in God’s word and to commit the scriptures to memory, this type of routine study is not what brings us understanding of the truth. There are scholars who study the scriptures purely academically for years and know them factually but do not know the truth. There are those who use the scriptures to serve their own purposes by preaching the word as meaning something other than it does. The difference between these people and the ones who study and understand the word is the Holy Spirit. He is the one who gives revelation of the word. Just like the parables of Christ, the scriptures are a mystery unless God chooses to reveal their truth to us.
This revelation is based on the condition of the heart. [Mt. 13-15] There is no injustice or unfairness to this. The Lord knows who earnestly seeks the truth, and it will be revealed to them. [Lk. 11:19] We certainly grow as we study, but we cannot chalk this up to our effort. It is good to be faithful in pouring over the word regularly, but the Holy Spirit gets the credit for increasing our knowledge and wisdom. When the scriptures seem unclear and life looks different than the words on the page, He can show us the truth. Father, thank You for revealing your truth to us through your word, and keep our hearts honestly searching only for that which is right and true.