Why Some People Can't Understand the Bible

I love the Bible. I love reading it. I don't find it hard to understand. I don't find it full of contradictions. It makes perfect sense. It should. It's God's revelation of Himself to man. He wrote it for man so man could know Him. He had to write it in a way man could understand it. That's not to say I understand all of it, or everything in it. No one does. It's depths are more vast than the ocean.  Surely I have questions about things that don't seem to make sense to me. That doesn't discourage me at all. It only confirms its "otherworldliness".
The gospel of John begins, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  The Greek word translated into English for "word" is logos. It means word. It's where we get our English word, logic. So it's not a far stretch to understand the passage to say, In the beginning was the logic, and the logic was with God... We know that the "Word" that is being referred to is Christ, the second person of the trinity. But what I love about God and His word is that He and His Word are logical. He's consistent. What He reveals about Himself in Genesis is consistent with who He is in Revelation.
And the book itself is logical. In other words, a book written over thousands of years by forty different authors from all walks of life lines up to tell one consistent revelation of the character, ways, acts and purposes of God Himself. It's like watching a craftsman putting together a complex mosaic. Some pieces of glass don't seem as if they should go there and some colors seem incongruent with the rest of the work. But as the craftsman continues to put the pieces in places suddenly one begins to see the picture. I learn to trust the craftsman.
Or it's like one of those 3d images with a picture hidden inside a picture. At first glance it appears that one is looking at a bunch of repetitive images that don't seem to make sense, then as you gaze upon the scene all of a sudden you see another image hidden deeper within the picture.
Many people struggle with the Bible. They say it's too difficult to understand. It doesn't make sense. It's full of contradictions. To me, they are like those who can't see the image within the image. You just have to keep looking. It's right there in front of you as plain as the nose on your face.
The Bible explains why some can't "see" it. It's written in code. You have to have the decoder in order to understand it. "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Cor 2:14) That's the secret. You have to be spiritual. I know that many people consider themselves spiritual but the Bible uses that term for believers. In other words, the Bible remains a closed book to the unbeliever.
I understand the argument, "Hey Paul, if I could understand it, maybe I'd believe it. But how am I to believe something that is so hard to understand?" I feel for you. It seems impossible doesn't it? But God rewards your understanding when He has your trust.
I was trying to teach my four year old grandson to tie his shoes. I held one string and told him how to put it over the other and so forth. Before I was finished he was already grabbing for the strings. "I know, I know," he kept saying.
"You don't know," I would say, wrestling with him for the shoelaces. "Here, put this string here and this string here..."
But he was insistent. He snatched the strings out of my hand and started twisting and turning until he had one beautiful knot. Now he could neither tie his shoes, nor untie them. All he had was a mess. I let him struggle with them for a few moments. As he fought with the strings he only made matters worse. The more frustrated he got, the harder he yanked causing the knot to tighten all that much more.
Finally he softened and asked me to help him.
"Will you let me show you how to do it now?" I asked.
"Yes," he conceded with a pout.
Many people come to the Bible thinking that they already know how things work. They take a quick glance at a few passages and wrestle with them until they have themselves tied into a spiritual knot. Perplexed at the difficulty, they walk away thinking the book is unknowable. The reality is that they are like my grandson. They think they know. In order for the Bible to become understandable, we have to be willing to accept that we don't know anything about the spiritual realm and that we are completely dependent upon the Lord to teach us. We have to come to it believing that He knows how to tie our spiritual shoes and we have to be humble enough to let Him.
Now, a few years later, my grandson can tie his own shoes. He grew into the understanding. But he first had to trust someone other than himself to teach him. God says that He will teach us His Word by His Spirit. We have to trust Him to do so.
The first step to understanding His Word is to invite God Himself into your life and heart through His Son, Jesus Christ. He has made a way for you to receive Him. Believe. Trust. Accept. This is the path to life in Christ and this is the path to understanding a spiritually discerned book, the Bible.
Start with a simple prayer of belief and acceptance. Then read with a heart of belief and acceptance. It will open up to you. You will see. Only believe.

INNER STRENGTH

Yesterday morning at 5 o'clock my cell phone rang. It was Dad. He informed me that my brother, Dale, passed away some time in the night. He died in his sleep. He was 52.
Dale had struggled for a number of years with his health. He had a construction accident years ago that caused him terrible back pain. From there, he went on the prescription meds merry-go-round. Sometimes he would be so medicated that I couldn't understand a word he was saying. Other times, he would be his old self, joking about one thing or another; complaining about one thing or another; enthusiastically talking about the Miami Dolphins and our hope for the upcoming year; or celebrating a NASCAR race.
These last few years things got worse. The "highs" were more frequent. He had heart surgery a few months ago. A few weeks ago he started having unexplained seizures. He seemed to believe that he wasn't long for this world. He was soft towards the Lord and very loving in every coherent phone call we had. We had a good conversation Friday, he sounded good. Sunday morning he was dead.
Although he sensed the end was near, I didn't. I kept believing that if they could just get his meds adjusted and he could get some semblance of balance that things would be good. He was, after all, only 52. He had lots of life to live. When Dad told me, I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. I couldn't breathe; my mind swirled. When I got off the phone, I sobbed.
That morning I was planning on preaching on Elders and Deacons. We had a business meeting coming up with a vote on some new By-laws and I needed to teach what the Bible says on such matters. Not fun, but necessary. As I drove to church, my mind was swirling with thoughts. There's no way I can preach today; especially on that topic. I was feeling so discouraged. Dale's dead. Life sucks. I just want to get away. I want to go some place where there are no people and just walk for three weeks. It seemed that every difficulty I had just got larger. I wanted to quit. Not quit living, just quit life. No obligations, no responsibilities, nothing that required energy, thinking, laughter, or interaction.
As I was spiraling downward in my thinking, all of a sudden I sensed the Holy Spirit in the deep place of my soul. There was a strength that I knew He was imparting. I thought of the Scripture phrase, "strengthened by His Spirit in your inner man." (Ephesians 3:16, I looked it up later.) It wasn't a great sense of victory, or praise; just strength. I felt stable. Psalm 1 says that we will be like trees planted by the rivers of water. That's what I felt like. A sturdy oak. Even though the winds of despair were howling around me, and the waters of grief were rising, I could sense God's Spirit firming me up in a deep place.
When I got to church, I looked up passages on strength. I was impressed how often we are told that the Lord will strengthen us.
"For You have armed me with strength for the battle..." (2 Samuel 22:40)
"My soul melts from heaviness; Strengthen me according to your word." (Psalm 119:28)
"In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul." 
(Ps 138:3)
"The way of the Lord is strength for the upright..." (Proverbs 10:29)
"It is God who arms me with strength... (Psalm 18:32)
This strength didn't take away the pain. It didn't answer all the questions. I didn't run and jump and shout. It just stabilized me. I have friends that wear knee braces when they play tennis. They say it stabilizes their knees which are susceptible to injury. That's what I felt; internal strength from an external source. His Spirit strengthening my spirit.
My thinking changed from despair and escape to sturdiness and stability. I no longer wanted to run. I wanted to love. I wanted to love God, love His people, feed His flock, strengthen those who, like I, were wobbling.
So the message that morning was not about church polity. I spoke on inner strength. I gave out what I sensed the Lord had put in. As I walked in the sanctuary, I heard a retired pastor speaking to a younger man. "The Lord will not put more on you than He puts in you to handle it." I smiled to myself. That's the message. I wasn't preaching it. I was living it.