Making Wise the Simple

The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. (Psalms 19:7b)

Unquestionable, yet it calls our understanding into question. In Christianity, there is no such thing as a wise testimony. Light is simple; darkness is complex, winding, twisting and elusive.

And darkness cannot comprehend light; the natural cannot receive the spiritual; belief cannot cohabitate with unbelief. So where men are exalted and God is minimized, His testimonies only confound, confused bewilder and baffle. It is pearls before swine and the holy before dogs.

People cannot accept the testimony God changed my life; because, it does not fit. They cannot embrace the testimony God healed me; because, it does not fit. They will not hear that prayer made a difference; because, it does not fit. It does not fit into the little box of human wisdom. It defies mere horizontal logic based in laboratory data.

Yet the Psalmist says it is “sure”. That is sound, certain, lasting, and real. And that is the only test of the Lord’s testimonies. Gamaliel said it plainly, “For if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it” In great humility, he resolved to let men be men and God be God.

Paul put it plainly, God is passed finding out. He is passed exploration and discovery. He is passed experimentation and empirical observation. He is subject to no law, no principle, and no standard; for He’s the author of every righteous law, every true principle, and every lofty standard.

To comprehend God is to be God. The assumption that one has comprehended God is the highest position of arrogant ignorance. And that is it: we were converted from wise to simple. What we thought took hard work only took faith. What we thought demanded ambition only demanded patience. What we thought took knowing the world only took knowing Him. When we thought our testimony would be the complexities of what we did ultimately became the simplicity of what God did. The songwriter captures the essence of the simple testimony when he wrote…

Yes, God is real
Real in my soul
Yes, God is real
For He has washed
And made me whole
His love for me
Is like pure gold
Yes, God is real
For I can feel
Him in my soul