Wisdom From the Pew

By Kathleen Northern

A spiritual and theological compilation of the life musings of a former minister, mother, singer/songwriter who's grown up loving God and observing His presence in the world. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Self
• Release date: Aug 7, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393514466

Kathleen Northern

Kathleen Northern is a proud grandmother of three, with an M.B.A. in Business Administration and an M.A.in Christian Leadership. She has worked in both ministry and business for 30+ years and is also an accomplished singer/songwriter with four studio albums. Check out her YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNDHzJmBFXDrvfFDm2TtWFA/

Book preview

The Bible is Sudoku

Maybe it’s in my makeup that I am fascinated by the Bible. I love finding hidden pictures in the Highlights’ magazines, solving mysteries and working through puzzles; it is immensely  satisfying to look at something so closely that it begins to reveal itself. That is what intrigues me about the veiled truths in this seemingly ordinary book. 

To me, one of the most appealing concepts in the Bible is the idea that God purposely made this complex manuscript appear simple. God has deliberately chosen to use ideas the world considers foolish and of little worth in order to shame those people considered by the world as wise and great...so that no one anywhere can ever brag in the presence of God.[2]  It turns out; God doesn’t like pompous people and fake worship any more than we do.  Consequently, he hides himself and his purpose just enough so that people who don’t want to find him can’t and people who do, can. It sounds a bit paranoid but there is mercy in that concept – if an all powerful God revealed himself fully and we dismissed him there would be no forgiveness for this kind of disrespect. 

God is a humble God, as humble as he is holy. This often overlooked attribute causes all kinds of problems. Because God doesn’t brag about himself, people misunderstand his infinite wisdom.  Even those who believe in the God of the Bible sometimes think they know everything about him. Think about it, if everything about your god makes sense to you then why are you serving him?  He doesn’t know any more than you? But if you serve a God who does things that you can't always explain, overrules your plans and expects you to come to him by his way alone, then you might have a genuine God on your hands.

I often think of the Bible as an author writing a children’s book.  Sure, Dr. Seuss was capable of writing more complex dialogue than I do not like green eggs and ham, but he wanted kids to learn.  He could have went into an intellectual diatribe about the affects of repetition and rhyme on the forebrain, which is made up of the cerebrum, the hypothalamus, the thalamus, the basal ganglia and hippocampus, which is responsible for the remembering and thinking part of the brain, but it would not have helped one single child learn how to read. 

God could have dazzled us with the knowledge of creation, his existence outside of time and space, how his words "Let there be light caused light to take off at a rate of 186,000 miles per second and is still going, but it would not have helped us to know him as a God who loves us.  So He gave us a book that starts out very simply In the beginning..."[3] It doesn’t answer every question about life, it wasn’t supposed to.  It simply explains, on a lower level – our level – who we are, who he is, and what he did for us.

And to ensure that both the simple-minded and the scholarly could relate, he layered this knowledge and declared. Ask and it shall be given, seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened to you.[4] For those who want to know more about him, God made a promise that if we keep on asking, we will keep on getting. If we keep on looking, we will keep on finding. And, if we knock on his door, he will always open it.   

God’s Plan of Offense

Jesus had become famous in the cities around Jerusalem and there were new people coming to see him almost every day. He did not let them down – there was always a miracle, always a meal, or a remarkable answer for one of the pious religious leaders trying to silence him. These groupies, as they are called in contemporary circles, had their psychological needs met: Even if we can’t be the one getting the attention, we want to be associated with the one who is. But now, Jesus recklessly says something like this.  Verily, verily I say unto you, unless ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. [5]

Master, don’t you know how this sounds? People are going to think you’re weird. And if you’re labeled weird, then so will we! A decision had to be made, should they try to save their reputations by distancing themselves from him or should they lose their reputations for his sake.[6]

If we want to know what it is like to be a disciple of Christ, a Christian, this is an ideal place to start.  If one has no knowledge of God’s nature or has not been a Christian very long, when reading this scripture, one would probably be confused and maybe even a little offended. Those who heard Jesus say this certainly were. They had been following him and enjoying the popularity that comes with being around someone who is considered well-known.  It was a tough call but the result wasn’t pretty. The Scripture says that many considered this a hard saying, too hard, in fact, and as a result many left and did not follow him as a disciple.[7]

I think this was the point. God knows how to reveal our true feelings. How much it will take for us to distance ourselves from him to save our reputation. It is apparent from Scripture that God does not want shallow relationships. And the more we are committed to seeking to understand him, the more apt we are committed to being in relationship with