Do You Know What You're Talking About?

By Dr. Jim Townsend, Ph.d

Today's Bible Reading: 1 Peter 1:9-12

Today's Verses: 1 Peter 1:10-11-Concerning [the] salvation [/ just referred to] prophets searched ... with reference to what sort of time ... the Spirit of Messiah inside them prophesied.

A British cab driver recalled asking the famous philosopher Bertrand Russell, "Well, Lord Russell, what's it all about?" {or, as you might say}, "What's the meaning of life?" The cabbie said, do you know that he [Russell] couldn't tell me"?

The Bible does inform us about the meaning of life, but it isn't always as clear as we'd like. For example, 1 Peter 1:9-11offers a most unusual take on the Old Testament prophets. The passage informs us that many prophets didn't know precisely what they were talking about. That is, they made many forecasts but didn't always know how or when their prophecies would be fulfilled.

Like the Old Testament prophets, we are sometimes forced to muddle over some prophetic biblical statements. Interpreting them is like trying to decode Shakespeare or another classic. We can take heart from the words of the apostle Peter who said that some things the apostle Paul said were "hard to understand" {2 Pet. 3:16}.

When we run aground due to "hard to be understood" passages, we can always seek God's help in interpreting what we have just read. After all, we should expect the Book of all books to contain some things beyond our range.

Lord, help me understand that I won't comprehend everything about things that transcend me.