My youngest daughter has this habbit of saying that she understands when she really doesn't. I have noticed that I cannot simply ask, "do you understand" because she will always answer "yes." I am not sure if this is because she wants to be right, wants to please her parents, or just doesn't want to listen to me talk anymore... maybe it is a little of each :)
A direct result of this awareness has been a new approach to confirming that she understands. Instead of asking her if she understands, I now ask her to explain to me what I just explained to her. What an amazing concept this is. The idea, I'm sure, was not invented by Nikki or myself, and has most likely been employed by parents around the globe for generations... but for my little family this change has made a world of difference.
our basic position is that if our children really do understand what they have just been taught, then they should be able to teach it to someone else. This sounds a lot like the message of the bible.
In Psalm 119:33-40 the Psalmist is pleading with God to help him find the way back to a right relationship with God. The Psalmist recognizes that a right relationship with God is life and that righteousness is found in understanding and obedience of God's Word.
What really struck me out of this passage is the first two words of verse 33, "Teach me" (NKJV). The idea in Hebrew behind this word is to throw or cast something. Specifically, this word is used a lot in the Old Testament in reference to shooting arrows and such. The picture here is of arrows of deliverance. The Psalmist writes that to know God's Word is to be armed with arrows that can be drawn and shot, stopping the advance of the enemy.
The Psalmist continues in his plead asking God to guide him into discernment to know when to fire and when to hold, to keep him standing firm (holding his position) against an approaching enemy, for it is in this that the Psalmist proclaims he will find life.
I have spent a lot of time in classes over the years - around 15 years in college alone. I am still a full-time (or almost) student at seminary and seek to learn all I can. I have determined that what I know is not gauged by the time I have invested or the school that I attend, but only by my ability to effectively use what has been taught.
In John 8:42-45 Jesus asks the Pharisees, "Why do you not understand My speech?" then proceeds to answer His own question: They do not understand because they have no reference from which to begin. Jesus speaks truth and life to Pharisees who's only frame of reference is a worldview of lies and deception. He speaks a simple truth to people who are accustomed to the complexity of lies.
Do you understand the simple truth of gospel?
Are you able to use and teach what you profess to know?
Are you listening from a perspective of dependence upon the grace of God to save you from your sin, or are you still trying to make up for the evil you have done?
Allow me to encourage you to follow the footsteps of the Psalmist:
1. Pray to God to guide you.
2. Return to daily reading of the bible, searching His Word for the simple Truth.
3. Cling to God's Word and Truth, finding your strength in Christ alone.
