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Know. Understand. Do.

“This is what the Lord says: ‘Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!’”¹

There’s a story I read that apparently originated in Psychology Today. As the story goes, several years ago the prince of Grenada, an heir to the Spanish crown, was sentenced to life in solitary confinement in Madrid’s ancient prison. The dreadful, dirty, and dreary nature of the place earned it the name, “The Place of the Skull.” Everyone knew that once you were in, you would never come out alive. The prince was given one book to read the entire time… the Bible.

With only one book to read, he read it repeatedly. Hundreds of times he read it through. Until finally, after 33 years of imprisonment, he died. When they came to remove his body and clean out the cell, they discovered notes that he had written on the soft stone walls using nails. They were notes like:

Psalm 118:8 is the middle verse of the Bible

Ezra 7:21 contains all the letters of the alphabet except the letter J

The ninth verse of the eighth chapter of Esther is the longest verse in the Bible

No word or name of more than six syllables can be found in the Bible

He had spent 33 years studying the greatest book of all time, but from what we know, there’s no indication that he ever made any religious or spiritual commitment to Christ. He just learned a lot of trivia.²

I often engage in conversations with people who know a lot about the Bible. Some of them share personal stories of how they have experienced God’s Word in action in their own lives, and it is evident they understand it based on how they demonstrate what they’ve learned towards others. However, not all of whom I speak with truly understand the Bible or who God is. They know a lot but, based on their lack of love and forgiveness towards others, they have not allowed God’s Word to penetrate their hearts. Like the prince in the illustration above, they spend their life memorizing all the trivia in the Bible but fail to accept and surrender to God.

In today’s verse we see that God is action. We read, “I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things.” God doesn’t just know all the things; He DOES all the things. He wants people to learn about him through experiencing Him. We can know a lot, but true joy and blessings come in understanding and imitating Jesus’ example.

Suggested prayer: Dear God, thank you for being a God of relationships. As I read your Word, please help me understand and apply it to my life. That others would know you, not by me boasting about all I know, but by the love I demonstrate towards them. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

1. Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NLT).

2. www.sermoncentral.com

Today's Encounter was written by: Crystal B.