August 12 - Knowledge of the Secrets of the Kingdom

August 12 - Knowledge of the Secrets of the Kingdom
Matthew 13:11; Luke 8:10

The disciples could not understand why Jesus spoke in parables.  In response, Jesus said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’”  (Matthew 13:11-13)

There are a lot of different religious movements out there who claim to offer you ways to understanding the secret things of God.  Numerology is one of those.  If you add up numbers of words and verses and on and on and on, you will be able to understand things about God that no one else can and this will give you more access.

Well, hooey.

The secrets of the kingdom of heaven are available to any who listen and hear, who understand, who see.  They aren’t some great hidden treasure that no one can access without the right key, whether you are a Christian or not.  They are a wonderful treasure that you can access simply by accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior.  That’s really all it takes!

Think about the times you have read Scripture and had an ‘ah ha’ moment, one of those moments when you feel as if all the understanding of the universe has been made clear to you.  That’s one of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.

Maybe it was a time you were helping someone, or loving someone, or reaching out in kindness to someone because you know it’s what makes God happy in your relationship with him and all of a sudden you just get it.  That’s one of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.

For those who just couldn’t make that leap to acknowledging Jesus Christ as Savior and Messiah, he used parables.  They were either going to get it or they weren’t.  And the ones who closed their hearts to him were never going to get it, in fact the little bit that they might have understood; the more they closed their hearts to him, the further away that understanding became.

But, for those who love Jesus, the more that we learn, the more understanding we gain. It grows exponentially, day by day.

The Scarecrow needed a diploma and all of a sudden he realized that he could understand the mysteries of the universe.  We just need a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and we will learn all the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.