July 29, 2024

Passage Read: Matthew 11-12
Meditation Verses: 11:25-30

Thought

Repentance is evidently hidden from the wise and intelligent, but revealed to infants! The wise and learned see the things that Jesus says and does, but don't get that they need to change their ways and conform them to the teachings of God and of Christ. Indeed, Jesus alone knows the Father and the Father alone knows the Son, but the Son is on earth, walking and doing and talking. He can be known by anyone willing to come to Him and spend time with Him. He will not drive anyone away, but they will depart who do not like His teachings, who are not willing to submit to His leadership. There is a yoke and there are tasks that need doing. Anyone willing to surrender to Jesus and learn from Him will find rest for their souls. No longer do they need to figure out all life; they just need to do and say what they hear and see in Jesus. The wise and intelligent are unwilling to surrender control of their lives, but children understand their obligation to obey their parents, so those who are willing to be as innocent and humble as a small child will have no trouble following Jesus and learning His ways.

Application

The greatest hindrance to my knowing Jesus is my own perceived intelligence and wisdom. I'm too smart to trust in Jesus's words, instructions and likeness. But Jesus does call for repentance, for a change in behavior that begins with an acknowledgement that I am not as smart as I think I am, that I need to be retrained, both in thinking and in behavior. If I can give up the thought of my own superiority and come to Jesus as an ignorant child, then I can see and understand who He is and who He desires me to be.