Get Understanding
Most people in the world do not understand. They cannot comprehend what the universe exists for, nor do they perceive the meaning of life. They live their material existence until they die. They hope that biological death is the end of their existence. As beauty, cognition, and ability decline, there is a sad reality to close their story and often a depression that accompanies their demise.
The world, in its indefatigable generation of theories, is ultimately no help to those dwelling in darkness. The blind cannot see, nor can the worldling. Because he is a material creature, man assigns value to that which he can see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. He consults with his neighbor, but she, too, is living a life of quiet desperation.
Man observes that everything made new is immediately subject to entropy. Decay is the status quo. Signs of death are everywhere. In one sense this motivates man to do more and possibly have more. He cannot escape the observation that people enter and exit life with nothing. The gym membership was vain, as was the collection of beauty products consumed under the belief that the anti-aging cream actually worked. Entire economies are built on producing and consuming with the promise of a better life, as seen on T.V.
The charade of “everything is going to be alright,” is shattered when someone on the street corner wears a sandwich board warning busy travelers that they are on the wide way leading to destruction, hell, and the lake of fire. What? Dismissed as an eccentric fool, travelers press on without making eye contact or questioning the bizarre communique.
The Bible calls this messenger, “a fool for Christ.” The world thinks this kook has lost his mind. Ironically, here is one who has received understanding. An inquiry into the motivation of the sidewalk prophet, and one learns that it is “love.” The interpreter is confused. The world has displayed many variations on this thing called “love.” Most of the content is sensual, some sexual, and even some altruism in the mix.
How can a sauntering sandwich-board solicitor of one’s attention ever be considered a lover, especially with a stern segue from the hustle of vanity fair? Before this man became a witness bearing news, he was the recipient of the very same message he is heralding. The simple statements on his frontage and back board are mere teasers. There is more to this man’s message, and he is making himself available for consultation.
A passage or two from the Bible seems to be enough for the messenger’s encounter with his curious observers. It is remarkable that this man believes simple statements are sufficient for here and now. God’s Word is powerful like that. In fact, the messenger’s whole message is actually the Holy Bible because that book is God’s revealed message to humanity.
My dear reader, if my recommendation to you is to get understanding then my advice is that there is only one place that understanding is granted by the all-wise God of the universe. The Bible gives its reader that which God would have us to know. It is how we interpret life and the world in which we dwell as creatures made by an omnipotent Creator. The Creator God is glorified in every aspect of His creation, even in the fall of man into sin.
Sin is the mother of every problem in the world. This, too, is important to understand. The world rejects the idea of sin, even as it rejects the idea of a Creator God, who made the heavens and the earth and everything in them. Are you beginning to see the disparity between the wisdom of God and the wisdom of the world? This, too, is important to understand.
Another idea that the world dismisses is that it is appointed for men to die once and then comes the judgment (Heb 9:27). This is usually the centerpiece of the sandwich board’s message. Death is a universally agreed upon point, so the natural next question is, “What happens to me when I die?” The Bible says, “judgment.” The world can only speculate.
The Bible’s message is very simple to grasp, but the pieces to the jigsaw puzzle, by analogy, are too numerous to even apprehend. Simplicity with a seemingly infinite depth is a biblical paradox. Simply put (may my reader understand), man’s plight in sin, leading to death and the judgment, carries the eternal consequence of hell and the lake of fire for guilty sinners.
“Salvation” is the Word the Bible uses to explain the solution to the plight of sinful man. Surely you have seen one of those simple signs, “Jesus saves.” Jesus Christ is the main person in the Bible and his identifiable work of saving sinners from the wrath of God, is now and for eternity. This is of utmost importance for you to understand. By the way, the world does not believe that Jesus is the answer to man’s dreadful quandary.
Do you understand now that the world is diametrically opposed to the message of the Bible? It also hates the messengers sent by God. So, where do you stand in this cosmic conflict? It is the darkened ignorance of the world versus the illumined understanding imparted by the omniscient God.
Rejoice if God has granted you so great a salvation, by way of understanding who He is and what He has done. To get understanding, call out to the God who is there, and may He grant it to you, if it be His will to do so. If it is His will, you, too, will be found reading the Bible…and maybe wearing a sandwich board on the sidewalk.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
September 8, 2021
