Matthew 17:10-13
His disciples asked, “Why do the
Jewish leaders insist Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?” Jesus
replied, “They are right. Elijah must come and set everything in order. And, in
fact, Elijah has already come, but he wasn't recognized, and they chose to
abuse him. And I, the Messiah, shall also suffer at their hands.”
Food for thought!
Elijah does come and get everything ready, but they didn’t
recognize him! This statement is both informative and a regret. It’s
informative because it tells us that Elijah did come; it’s a regret because it
laments that Elijah was missed.
The very people whose duty was to receive Elijah, the religion scholars, missed him; they didn't know him when they saw him. They treated him like dirt, the same way they are about to treat Jesus! Why and how did this happen? Why do we miss that for which we have been waiting? Why do we read the the Bble and get nothing out it?
This is like asking, why do some students, whose duty is to learn miss the point? Why do couples, who married in order to live together and love each other miss the point? Why do the religious people, whose duty is to love and serve God miss the point? Why do we miss the point?
You have probably heard the phrase, “What you see is what you get.” This saying calls to mind a law of life that has nothing to do with what is being seen and everything to do with who is doing the seeing. In other words, we see what we want to see; we learn what we want learn; we are what we want to be.
That is why, if and when you read the Word of God with an expectant heart, prepared to slow down, and really meditate on what the Lord is saying, you’ll get so much more out of your time with God. But if you read the Word of God with an attitude of “Oh, I’ve read this story before,” and then just skim over the words, you get nothing out of it.
As someone once said, “Age is not a question of years. The years may wrinkle your skin but it is the lack of interest that wrinkles your soul.” This same analogy holds true with how interestingly life unfolds for you. Nothing is interesting in life, in school, in marriage, if you are not interested in life. Yes, sometimes we wait for Elijah that’s right in front of us; we may be searching for the kingdom of heaven, which is right within us all the time, yet often we recognize it not. Nothing is interesting if you are not interested!
The very people whose duty was to receive Elijah, the religion scholars, missed him; they didn't know him when they saw him. They treated him like dirt, the same way they are about to treat Jesus! Why and how did this happen? Why do we miss that for which we have been waiting? Why do we read the the Bble and get nothing out it?
This is like asking, why do some students, whose duty is to learn miss the point? Why do couples, who married in order to live together and love each other miss the point? Why do the religious people, whose duty is to love and serve God miss the point? Why do we miss the point?
You have probably heard the phrase, “What you see is what you get.” This saying calls to mind a law of life that has nothing to do with what is being seen and everything to do with who is doing the seeing. In other words, we see what we want to see; we learn what we want learn; we are what we want to be.
That is why, if and when you read the Word of God with an expectant heart, prepared to slow down, and really meditate on what the Lord is saying, you’ll get so much more out of your time with God. But if you read the Word of God with an attitude of “Oh, I’ve read this story before,” and then just skim over the words, you get nothing out of it.
As someone once said, “Age is not a question of years. The years may wrinkle your skin but it is the lack of interest that wrinkles your soul.” This same analogy holds true with how interestingly life unfolds for you. Nothing is interesting in life, in school, in marriage, if you are not interested in life. Yes, sometimes we wait for Elijah that’s right in front of us; we may be searching for the kingdom of heaven, which is right within us all the time, yet often we recognize it not. Nothing is interesting if you are not interested!
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