Insightful Musings on the Scriptures
by
Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67
Passage: Matthew 21:1-32
Focus: “Go…and you will find…” Matthew 21:2.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could hold conversation with Jesus everyday and hear Him give specific and detailed guidance for our day? “Be in your car at 9:40am. Travel to the Salem K-Mart and park in the NW corner of the lot. As soon as you turn off your engine at 10:17am you will be approached by a blue Volkswagen convertible driven by a fat lady in a tight yellow dress who will…..” And by virtue of His omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence, He not only details everything beforehand, but actually makes it all happen precisely as He said as long as you follow the instructions. It would certainly take a lot of the question marks and uncertainties out of living.
On the other hand, maybe it wouldn’t be all that great. For one thing, such a lifestyle would transform us into remote-controlled robots rather than free moral agents. It would help us become good note-takers with attention to details, but would remove from us our God-given functions of objective reasoning, creativity, and choices. It think it would also scare us to death if we actually knew all that God was intending to do and use in our lives toward training us to be effective Kingdom representatives according to His sovereign will.
In regards to this last thought, take note of the fact that God very rarely prescribes such guidance. It is only on very special and specific occasions…as we have in this passage. Instead He more often leaves us with very general guidelines: “Love me…seek me…come unto me…believe in me…cast your cares on me…follow me.” And He says His Word “is a lamp to our feet and light to our path” (Ps. 119:105)…not a 40-trillion-candle-power spot light to see 16 miles down life’s road. We are only required to take one faith-step at a time.
I believe the most important thing for me to grasp in these few words is the fact that the One we are loving and seeking and serving IS indeed omniscient (all knowing), omnipotent (all powerful), and omnipresent (everywhere present). He knows the end from the beginning. He may not disclose many of the details…but HE KNOWS! And if I know that He knows, I know I need to find a way to maintain that knowing. He knows that this is all I need to know. I know you know what I mean.