The Sunday Bible class at Grace church was huge. We were placed at round tables to discuss the Scripture lesson. Each table had an appointed facilitator and our table had several prominent leaders in the church. However, the person who rocked our group was an elderly Spanish lady. She didn’t say much, was not good with English, but when she opened her mouth, everyone listened. She obviously knew her Bible and had a deep relationship with Jesus Christ.
Knowing God is not about how smart you
are. Some children have a deeper grasp of biblical truth than many adults. While
I’m taking theology classes and being taught deep and powerful principles, I am
positive that God is the teacher of Bible truth, and it does not matter what my
IQ is, or how much information or studying I accomplish. He makes truth clear
and real. It is not discovered by brain power or human ability.
The psalmist wrote: “Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them. The
unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. I
open my mouth and pant, because I long for your commandments. Turn to me and be
gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name. Keep steady my
steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me.
Redeem me from man’s oppression, that I may keep your precepts. Make your face
shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes. My eyes shed streams of
tears, because people do not keep your law.” (Psalm 119:129–136)
The first sentence and the second are
inseparable concepts. The person who loves and obeys God’s Word is the one to
whom God unfolds truth. He imparts understanding, even to those who are simple.
He is not referring to someone who is a simpleton, but a person who thinks with
simplicity. Another word that might fit here is “child-like” (but not
childish).
God gives truth, not to the brainy but to
those who love Him. He opens up our minds to His Word. He also enables us to
walk steadily with Him, giving us what we need to overcome sin. He protects us
from oppression and teaches us His Law as well as His Word. We get it, not
because we are smarter or quicker in mind, but because He has blessed us with a
heart like a child. He has even blessed us with the mind of Christ.
A simple soul has other characteristics.
They do not laugh at coarse jokes, mostly because they don’t get the joke. They
have compassion toward those whom others reject or abandon – the hurting,
homeless and down-trodden. They feel it when others hurt and will help them
without thinking about any cost to themselves.
Another quality is a shiny face. This may
seem odd, but when God’s face shines upon His child, that child shines too. Think
of how a child lights up when his daddy walks into the room. So it happens when
we see the face of our heavenly Father shining in our lives.
As the psalmist says, the simple soul
also sheds tears because of the lawless. This distress is not “How dare they
sin like that!” but a deep love for God’s laws which are being broken, and for
the one doing the breaking. A simple soul knows the delight of obedience and
the sorrow of disobedience. When others disobey, the heart of a simple person
hurts for them and longs for them to know the light and the wonder of God’s
truth, and the joy that comes with freedom from sin and from knowing the smile
of God in their lives.
The next time someone calls me a
simpleton (or anyone else for that matter), may God give me the presence of
mind to tell them the difference between a simpleton and a simple soul.
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