15 Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them.

Despite our human foibles and limitations, we don’t need to continue in a spiritually dull state. God has provided us with resources to aid our spiritual progress in the knowledge of Himself. First, the Lord has given us His Word, as David says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps 119:105). A clear perspective on life based on instruction from the Word of God will help us live in the way for which God designed us. Without the Word, we constantly stumble about with a dulled sense of right and wrong, a lack of true spiritual discernment. The goal is to not just know truth, but to live it. That is why David adds, “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; un-ite my heart to fear Your name” (Ps 86:11).

But how does one go from “head-knowledge” or the academic reading of God’s word to really knowing it in a transforming way? It begins with a deep humbleness before the Creator God of the universe. Solomon put it this way, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge…” (Prov 1:7a) and also, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Prov 9:10). Knowledge and wisdom are rooted in a relationship with God Who is infinitely greater than us—He is not to be trifled with. His Word is not on the level of a self-help book. It is the communication of the One who created all, who is Sovereign over all, and Who will judge all. He is the One who speaks in the Scripture, and that is why we call it “God’s Word.” So we must take His Word seriously because we must take Him seriously. We will not escape spiritual dullness apart from that!

As Christians we have an empowering resource in Christ, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God …he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:114-15). We have the mind of Christ teaching us from within! Peter adds, “… His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excel-lence” (2 Peter 1:3). As we live out what we have in Christ, we experience what the writer of Hebrews saw, “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil” (Heb 5:14).

Lord, thank You for giving me Your Word and the mind of Christ. Help me to move beyond spiritual dullness to maturity in knowledge and wisdom.