"Kaleidoscope"

"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." (John 16:12 KJV)

  "Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn't talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren't ready for anything stronger. And you still aren't ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren't you living like people of the world? When one of you says, "I am a follower of Paul," and another says, "I follow Apollos," aren't you acting just like people of the world?" (1 Corinthians3:1-4 NLT)

 If you have ever had one of these things, a kaleidoscope, then you might remember that there are several different types: you have your basic types that our made of cheap colored glass and mirrors, and then you have the more complex types that are made of colored rocks, that make different patterns, almost like you can hardly ever see two the same. 

 There is something we must understand about God's word: His word is living and breathing, making each and every experience of reading, a new, yet familiar experience, deepening our understanding, while at the same time, adding a new and greater mystery to what we thought we already knew. In other words, we can never get to a place where we have seen it all, knowing all that is says, or no longer learning what He has to share with us! 

 As with those two different types of kaleidoscopes, one is pretty basic, the other is pretty complex; so too is the two different ways to read and live by God's word: one is from a worldly and a basic point of view, the other is from a spiritual and a complex point of view. Most people can't handle the complexity of how deep and far the spiritual side might take them; most people just want to keep it simple, avoiding the so called, 'Swirling Eddies'. 

 Anywho, enough with the stuff that doesn't really matter! The one thing I believe Jesus was trying to say, without taking too much liberty with His words, is that He had much more He could tell them about, but they were not spiritual enough to understand it, let alone contain any of it! Jesus was very familiar with the world, as well as the place He came from, which was Heaven.

 You can't just say things that people will not understand. If you tell eleven different people, all of which do not understand what you are telling them, you will get eleven different ideas of what was said; and no one will understand or agree with one another about what you said. We can actually see that happening in the church, all of the time. The pastor or preacher gives a message, and there are a multitude of different meanings to what was actually said, depending upon where their heart and head were at. 

 There are some basic things that need to matter; we must never get too far from the message...

"After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God's servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work God gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It's not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What's important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God's workers. And you are God's field. You are God's building. Because of God's grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have - Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 3:5-11 NLT)