“Comfort yourself with the Word of God, the pre-eminent consolation.”
– Martin Luther (Luther: Letters of Spiritual Counsel, Theodore Tappert, translator)
Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will” (Matthew 11:25-26).
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Did you have any favorite books as a child? Do your children or grandchildren have some favorite books now?
When my kids were little, they liked Dr. Seuss books. Hop on Pop was a particular favorite (since they liked to hop on their pop.) They liked Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are, as well as The Rainbow Fish, The Napping House, and Love You Forever. They also had a fun favorite called The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, which took famous fairy tales (such as “The Gingerbread Man”) and twisted them around into funny, different stories.
There was a time in my life when I was asked to teach college students about philosophy, about the deep thoughts of deep thinkers throughout human history. The primary textbook assigned for the course was called Western Philosophy: An Anthology. The book collected excerpts from the writings of deep-thinking philosophers from all the way back in ancient Greece up to modern times. Probably not a book that would be a favorite with your kids and grandkids. It’s heady stuff. When I was asked to teach that class, I added another book as a supplemental text to help myself and the students along. Looking at Philosophy: The Unbearable Heaviness of Philosophy Made Lighter included pictures to help make things a little easier to think about.
When my own kids were in college, at times they’d email me papers they were working on, for another set of eyes to proofread and see how well things flowed. I was glad to do that. Then, of course, came the day when the papers they were writing went beyond my scope. I could only admire (but barely comprehend) the research on treating Parkinson’s disease that went into a dissertation on “Levodopa-Induced Dyskinesia: From Aberrant Presynaptic Signaling to Maladaptive Postsynaptic Plasticity.”
The Bible is a big book. Even simplified editions like the New International Reader’s Version or children’s Bibles aren’t exactly easy reading. Do you need to be a deep-thinking philosopher or a scientist with advanced degrees to get to know the message God has for you? No, as Jesus said, oftentimes God’s truths remain hidden from people who are the most wise and intelligent, and yet are revealed to and treasured by the littlest of children (Matthew 11:25).
I will admit, there are a lot of complicated truths in the Bible. There are difficult ideas and challenging stories. It can happen that some of the smartest people in the world lose their way and turn away from God. But we hold onto the promises that God has given us with simple faith, trusting God the way that children trust their parents. [God refers to himself as our Father for that reason.] When we’re children, we have that kind of trust. Then, as we grow up, life gets more complicated. We ask why, why, why—to everything. A devout believer named Job, going through horrendous struggles of life, asked, “Why, Lord?” The Lord’s answer was to point him back to who he, our God, is. We can’t always understand why, but we do know who cares for us. When we must go through fires or floods or even the valley of the shadow of death, he will be with us (Isaiah 43:1-2, Psalm 23:4). “You are precious in my sight and I love you,” he says (Isaiah 43:4).
Paul, who himself was the most widely educated and scholarly of the apostles of Jesus, once posed the questions (1 Corinthians 1:20): “Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scholar? … Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” The message of Christ may seem foolishness to many and be a stumbling block for others. But to those who are called to faith, Christ is “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24).
May we keep holding onto Jesus, keep holding onto God’s promises, trusting and believing. Even if you don’t understand all things, know for sure this one thing: God loves you and redeems you.
Scripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
