“Farther Along”

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

BIBLE READING:  John 2

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” …he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. (John 2.19-22)

In the moment Jesus’ comments made no sense. The temple had taken 46 years to build—this man was talking crazy! Or was he… Some people wrote him off, but his disciples hung in there; and after his resurrection they understood what he was talking about. Moments like this remind us that, from the beginning of his ministry, Jesus understood his purpose and the mode through which it would be accomplished. Some would scoff and even his disciples would deny it (Matthew 16.21-23). But farther along it would all make sense.

It would be nice to have perfect clarity. But alas, we are limited by time, space and understanding. Something that seems confusing today may gain clarity with life experience and wisdom. Moments like this one in John 2, remind us that everyone has limitations in what we can know and understand. This is especially true regarding God’s word. There are some things we read and think they seem backwards or counterproductive. For instance, how can turning the other cheek be better for me when I’m being belittled and treated like a doormat? How can greater self-control give me freedom? Even in the church, people have reasoned against God’s patterns in favor of a larger organization structure because it leads to ‘greater good.’ In the moment we often reason for temporary results. But in God’s words are eternal truths that operate on a larger scope.

As the wise man wrote, “Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good” (Proverbs 16.20). Scripture requires reflection, consideration, time and experience to understand. That’s because we don’t have the Divine capacity to understand comprehend all truth in a moment of time. We can’t see the long-term effects of a bad habit. We can’t see how a bad situation can be good for me. Some of it is we just don’t know what God is up to; and we may never know. But some of it is that we just have to wait for God’s timing.

We must accept the reality that God’s word will prove true (Proverbs 30.5) and give us the best way forward. However, for this to benefit us, we must do 3 things:

1. Treasure his word in our hearts. Psalm 119.11. It keeps us from sin and becomes and active force in our lives when we need it. When God’s word is stored in our hearts, it can flow from our mouth and give us clarity from the Spirit.
2. Wrestle with these words. Peter warned us there are some difficult things in scripture to understand (2 Peter 3.16). Like other people of faith, we need to be willing to ask the hard questions. As we do, our understanding will be confronted, and we must evolve.
3. Learn to wait. Sometimes time is our best teacher. We’re all operating on God’s time schedule; and the sooner we can get on board with that, the sooner we’ll find the peace we’re all looking for. As the song says, “Farther along we’ll know all about it. Father along we’ll understand why. Cheer up my brother, live in the sunshine. We’ll understand it all by and by.”

Share