NOBLE PLANS - WHY SOME JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND

Have you read C. S. Lewis’ book The Weight of Glory? If not, there is a host of gems, a treasure-trove of wisdom waiting for you in that 198-page book. You’re heard it said, “Never judge a book by its cover.” The axiom certainly applies to The Weight of Glory. *

Yesterday I finished the chapter “Translation,” and today, I have a new perspective on my fellow man and sadly, the failings of my own human condition. I better understand why, even after decades of trying to be a Christ-like example to friends, neighbors, and relatives, they still see the faith as “foolishness” (1Co 1:23). Even among my believing friends, the pursuit of noble plans is often viewed with blank and sometimes amused stares. And of course, as I have tried to comprehend why God has trudged me down some of the difficult paths He has taken me, I begin to grasp why I am inadequate to the task.

Despite a great yearning, I could never articulate the context as well as C. S. Lewis, but to reiterate what I can in my own words: imagine that you are on a team of explorers into the deepest of unknown jungles. There, you stumble upon a young man, perhaps in his twenties, who has never met another human being. He sees you, he sees that you have arms, legs, faces, and hair . . . he hears you uttering sounds from your lips.

But there the associations come to a startling halt. Nothing else about you is familiar: the “words” you speak are gibberish; the clothes you wear are a complete and total shock. The tools you hold are beyond his frame of reference and appear “magical.” In short, he cannot understand you. He sees that you are similar, and he wants to understand, but he cannot.

On the other hand, in sheer moments upon meeting the lad, you have a total comprehension of his situation. Not only do you understand his predicament, your brains are filtering through a world of knowledge and questions at your disposal: “Where did he come from?” “Is he a survivor from that crash 17 years ago?” “Would he be the son of professor so-and-so?” These are questions and concepts the young man has no ability to understand, let alone ask himself.

“But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1Co 2:14).

To share a more contemporary example, in the 1967 episode of Star Trek, “Mirror, Mirror,” Captain Kirk and his companions return from an alternate universe, where he and his ship were responsible for what would be unspeakable crimes in our universe. During the episode, “good” Kirk was transported into their reality and the “bad” Kirk and companions were brought here. As the program draws to a close, Kirk asks his first officer Spock, how he knew the “bad” Captain Kirk was not him. Spock’s response? “It was far easier for you as civilized men to behave like barbarians than it was for them as barbarians to behave like civilized men.”

In short, those who do not have the ability to see the world from a biblical worldview, will always have a difficult, if not impossible time grasping its meaning. In its place they will attempt to fill it with every form of counterfeit and seemingly noble plan, yearning as that young man in our jungle story would have: to relate, to share, and to partake. And sadly, barbarism may rise in the vacuum of biblical literacy, as has been the case in modern history (i.e. Nazi occupied Europe, Bosnia, Iraq, Yugoslavia, and the list goes on).

The take away:

1) In the Scriptures, the faithful are often referred to as “the elect” or “the chosen” (ref: Ps 105:43, Isa 43:20, Mt 24:22, Mt 24:31, Lu 18:7, Ro 8:33, 1Pe 2:9). Think on that, my friend, and with new eyes understand what that means! Beyond your salvation, ponder the incredible gift that God has elected you to share! Paul understood and speaks across the eons to us today, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1Co 2:14). God has called — or is calling you — out of that darkness and into His light (2Co 4:6).

2) You may not now — or ever — comprehend why your life is as it is, why the hardships and trials you have had to endure have happened, or perhaps even why your life has been so trouble-free when you witness such agony around you. Take hope, friend. “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known” (1Co 13:12).

3) Have compassion on your fellow man. It can be frustrating even to the point of anger and abandonment to share your spiritual convictions with those outside the fold (and few things anger them more than to realize that their intellect is not up to the task). What compassion would you shower on a youth found in the jungle? It would be great! It would be rich with hope, love, and patience. So let it be for those in your network of friend and family, your neighbors and co-workers. “Have mercy (compassion) on some, who are doubting” (Jude 22 – parenthesis mine). This is a noble plan.


"A noble man devises noble plans; and by noble plans he stands"

*The Weight of Glory, C. S. Lewis, HarperOne, ISBN: 978-0060653200