The blind turn

 This week's verses are Luke 9:43-45:

Then they were all astonished at the mighty power of God.

But while the entire crowd was amazed at everything Jesus was doing, he said to his disciples, “Take these words to heart, for the Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.” But they did not understand this statement; its meaning had been concealed from them, so that they could not grasp it. Yet they were afraid to ask him about this statement.

Imagine you were one of the disciples, hanging out with Jesus. Everything in your life is going great. You're following one of the best rabbi ever to live. Your career is set! Life is good! Then your rabbi suddenly veers to the left and says it's all going down. What do you do?

You don't want to look stupid, right? Maybe the other disciples get what he is saying. Maybe you misunderstood. It's easier to just blow it off than to try to figure it out. Throw out the piece that doesn't fit instead of figuring out where it goes.

Jesus was telling them a powerful truth about what was going to happen, but its meaning was hidden from them. What good is it to know that things will fall apart if we can't change it? Sometimes truths are buried in plain sight for us to see, but only to understand in retrospect. We're blind until the veil is lifted.

In these verses, we learn from Jesus that popularity is not all it's cracked up to be. We look at popularity as being a permanent state of blessing, but good popularity can turn to bad popularity in a heartbeat. We shouldn't aim for it as a goal, or rest in it as a source of security. The same is true for lots of things that we look for in life: marriage, career, good health, an education, world peace, wealth, etc.

Sometimes God's plan involves a sharp turn away from what we want. The path to the kingdom of God wasn't the steady upward climb the disciples thought it would be. There was a sudden descent through betrayal, suffering, and death.

How much do we miss from God's revelation, simply because it doesn't fit our idea of how things should be? Are there things we are being told now that are hidden from us? When we read the Bible, do certain verses just bounce off of our forehead and never make it inside?

We shouldn't be afraid to ask God when we don't understand something. It could be that it's something that is hidden for us to discover later. Or it could be that we just need to speak up. Don't be afraid to ask God for understanding when there is something you don't understand. You don't want to miss a turn on the road to eternity.