The Lord Understands Us

We have continued our bible study of how husbands are to love their wives, as Christ loves the church, and live with them in an understanding way. When a husband lives this way, his wife feels loved. 

         Here at the Table of the Lord, we see this in action. The Lord understands us, His Church. He gave Himself for us and we remember what He has done. He gives us tokens of His commitment to us, bread and wine, symbols of His perfect sacrifice and undying devotion to us.

         He knows our frame, that we grow weak and unsure, even insecure about His love.  So, He gathers us weekly to review what He has done and renew His love towards us.  In short, the Lord lives with us in an understanding way. We should have no doubt about His love for us.

Understand

I believe it was St. Augustine who first said the goal of godliness is not to seek to be understood but to seek to understand. That is a helpful admonition for today’s sermon. As husband and wife, we often get stuck trying to get our spouse to understand us.  But if we turn this around and first seek to understand them as our primary focus, then whether they understand us or not fades into the background.

         The reality is that seeking to understand is simply love. For some of us, this kind of love is more difficult. We may not be good at asking questions. We may not be as naturally curious. We may not have a strong desire to know. But as the Lord brings people into your life, it is important for you to get to know them, to seek to understand who they are and what makes them tick. You cannot do this without keen skills of observation and you cannot do this without asking some personal questions.

         We can all do a better job at this, that is sanctification. But there may be a need for repentance as well if your main goal has always been to get others to understand you. If you have been self-absorbed and self-centered in this way, repentance is in order as we ask God to change you and enable you to seek to understand others and so become a humble learner.