HIDE AND SEEK GOD’S WAY
Matthew 11:25-26 NLT
25 At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. 26 Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!
Some people are just plain smart. They seem to be able to pick up on complex concepts and they easily grasp new information. These were the people who breezed through school. Their intelligence gives them advantages in this life. But here is an interesting thing. The smartest among us are not always the most spiritual among us. In our verses for today, Jesus gives a glimpse as to why book smart does not always translate to spiritual smart.
Jesus is praying, and I do like how He begins His prayer: O Father, Lord of heaven and earth. Nothing has changed in that respect. Our Heavenly Father is still over all, and nothing or no one surpasses Him. Then Jesus declares that the Father has hidden spiritual truths from those who think of themselves as wise or clever. So being wise, smart, and clever is not the way to connect with God’s truth. God hides things from the clever but reveals them to those who are childlike.
Jesus is not making a case for ignorance. He is not saying someone needs to abandon education in order to have revelation from God. What He is saying is that natural wisdom will not get us there. It requires a childlike humility to recognize that, compared to God, even the most brilliant among us is far, far beneath His knowledge and wisdom. And coming to God in a childlike way is acknowledging how much smarter God is and how much we need His help to grasp spiritual truth.
Jesus spoke of receiving the kingdom of God as a little child. Little children are more prone to think their parents are the smartest people in the world. Little ones typically ask questions. A lot of questions. They are curious. They want to learn, and they believe their parents have answers. The little ones, and I am referring to very little, rarely try to take on their parents or outwit them, and when they do, it looks ridiculous. The challenge with children is when they grow some and think they know everything. And we have seen how that works out. Usually, the results are not good.
Paul said in his first letter to the Corinthians that the world by wisdom does not know God. The worldly wise think our belief in God and His Word is foolishness. I am thankful that God did not make His wisdom only available to those with a high IQ. But God made His wisdom available to anyone who will humble his heart and acknowledge God’s ways as true and right. Paul, writing to the intellectual Greeks at Corinth, said no flesh can glory in God’s presence. Our access to God’s wisdom is through Jesus Christ, and so if we are going to brag, we brag about Him.
I love how God did this. He put the gospel on the bottom shelf, so to speak, so that everyone can reach it—from the very smart to those who struggled with learning. Everyone has the capacity to hear and believe. And as we continue to walk humbly before God, He can continue to show us more and more of His timeless, eternal truth.
PRAYER
Thank You Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have made Your truth available to me. It really does not matter how I performed in school. I can learn of You. And I can walk in Your wisdom because of what Jesus has done.