1 Corinthians 2:10-16 (The Message)
10-13 The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along. Who ever knows what you’re thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God—except that he not only knows what he’s thinking, but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us. We don’t have to rely on the world’s guesses and opinions. We didn’t learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we’re passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.
14-16 The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit—God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God’s Spirit is doing, and can’t be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah’s question, “Is there anyone around who knows God’s Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?” has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ’s Spirit.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 2 is talking about God’s wisdom that he differentiates from the wisdom of education or the wisdom of leaders. God’s wisdom is different. I switched to The Message to give a more down to earth translation. Paul seems to be reasoning that only we know what we are thinking and therefore only God knows what God is thinking. We may try to anticipate God’s response to situations but in fact we do not know what the future holds and what the wise way to act might be. It seems to feel to me like Robert Frost’s poem, Two Roads Diverged in a Woods. We come to forks in the roads of our life and we are just not sure which way to go. In our youth we pondered who to marry, which job to take, or with whom to live. Life was so dramatic. Now as an elder walking into widowhood, my choices are again foggy. I like to try to convince myself that it is because I don’t have my husband to talk things over with but that is a leaky-bucket argument. Many never marry. Others live in war torn countries. Wisdom to face tomorrow does not come from another person, as comforting as it is to talk with that person, but wisdom comes from God. Perhaps reading Scripture helps but often it is a challenge to spend some time praying. The Holy Spirit is the one who knows the heart of God and who speaks to our spirit.
Jonah may be one of the books of the Bible with the most prayers in its four short chapters. Jonah is a good example of a prophet grappling with God’s will. You might want to read Jonah 1:4-13. God tells Jonah to go to a foreign city of Nineveh and preach the truth. So Jonah hops a boat in the opposite direction. The boat encounters a violent storm and the first prayer we read is by the sailors. The storm is so violent that each sailor prays to his own god. They throw the cargo overboard to lighten their load. Jonah even goes below deck and goes to sleep. The captain of the ship then orders them to call on their own gods for help. They cast lots and realize the storm is because of Jonah and so they go to Jonah and ask what’s up and what should be done. He confesses that he is the problem and should be thrown overboard. They throw Jonah overboard as they pray for forgiveness. “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.”
We might all see ourselves in this little story. My New Year’s resolution for how many years has been to…loose weight. The dessert is offered and I run away from the voice in my heart. I indulge. Tomorrow is another day, right! Or perhaps I listen to the “gods” of the world that say if I eat this or that pill, I will loose weight. Hmmm. I might even throw away temptations in the cupboard. I may even cry tears realizing my own guilt. I may just plain go to asleep and avoid exercising. I have even looked in the mirror and questioned why God put me in a family prone to overweight. I’m just like…. Yep, all the aspects of the Jonah story ring true in my life too.
Paul is saying to us today that spiritual wisdom does not come from universities or governments but comes from the Holy Spirit as our spirit spends time communicating with God’s Spirit. Lord, help me not to be reluctant, resistant, and fight with the wisdom you give me to face the challenges of today.
On the Way to Wonder 