Truth is revealed

November 15, 2008 in Seoul, November 14 at home

Yesterday we went for a two hour walk around a man-made lake surrounded by a large park. Both did not appear to be man-made, but as if they had been there by nature. Even in November, with fallen leaves and fading fall color, the park is lovely. I cannot imagine what it would be like in spring with the trees and flowers in bloom.

Later we spent a little while visiting with our granddaughter. She had a full day of exercise and teaching. Our conversation ran to Korean television. While there are several English programs, the majority of what we can find are Korean game shows. Our granddaughter finds them puzzling. “They do silly things and find them hilarious. My friends laugh too, and I just don’t understand what is so funny.”

Not knowing enough Korean to offer any response, I said that it would be interesting to study the humor of different cultures and find out what makes people laugh. She agreed, but the humor here remains a puzzle.

This morning I read the parable of the sower, or the parables of the soils as it is sometimes called. Jesus relates this to the multitudes, then when He and His disciples are alone, they ask about it. He says, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables. . .” (Mark 4:11)

This is almost the same as the puzzle over Korean humor. Because of their background and position in this culture, Koreans see the funny side of things that do not seem funny at all to us. In the same way, because of their position in the kingdom of God, Christians see the reality of things that make no sense at all to people outside the kingdom.

The parable is Jesus’ way of illustrating truth so that only those who belong to Him can understand it, even though the language and the stories themselves are not complicated. He does this so that these truths are hidden to those without faith. That way, no one can claim the forgiveness He offers without first having faith in Him. That might not make sense, yet apart from faith, salvation is not possible and understanding the plan of salvation is not possible. If a person could understand by their intellect alone, faith would be unnecessary.

In other words, salvation and understanding spiritual things is not entirely a matter of human intellect and understanding. If it were, then the wise of this world would have an edge over those with lower intelligence. Instead, salvation requires an element outside of my IQ. I need the Holy Spirit to enlighten my mind and reveal truth to me. That cannot happen unless there is faith to believe it.

Even faith is not my doing; it is a gift of God (see Ephesians 2:8-9) and comes by hearing the Word of God. I cannot simply decide to believe something apart from the work of God in my spirit to give me faith.

Those who believe in Jesus and are part of His kingdom have no trouble with parables, just like those who live in Korea and are part of this culture have no trouble with Korean humor. Outsiders might be able to imitate them, pretend they understand, even laugh along with them, but unless enlightened, the game shows, like the parables, remain a mystery.