WHO KNOWS?

READING: EPHESIANS 4:17-24

Verse 17: “This I say, therefore, and testify in the LORD, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind.”

Our human tendency is to try to figure things out. It seems to comfort us greatly when we can see and understand for ourselves that things are working, and how. If conditions start to feel threatening or out of control, the desire to understand can become more like a need than just a desire. If the pressure continues to increase, the need can get to be more imperative and become a demand. A person may feel they must understand. Although the natural urge for this type of understanding is very strong, the Apostle Paul warns us to resist it. He teaches that it is futility to trust the human mind. In verse 18 he gives the reason to not trust natural understanding. We are told that alienation from the life of God has darkened human understanding. However, this truth does not necessarily generate a “woe is me - all is lost” situation. There is a godly alternative! Instead, according to verse 23, we can learn Christ and be renewed in the spirits of our minds. Then through this newness of mind, all of the understanding we need can flow from the divine, ever-present provision and power of His Lordship. It becomes His understanding that gets imparted to our lives for every good thing. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. What effect does darkened human understanding have on a person?

2. What is the right response when a person begins to feel the pressure to understand in the natural?