Daily Bread

At that time Jesus said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

In this passage Jesus is not thanking God because God has purposely hidden these things from those who are worldly wise, but because God has revealed herself to those that the world considers unwise, unintellectual, or 'lesser'. Practically speaking, Jesus' disciples were not learned academic scholars but included fishermen and builders.

It is also not that God chose some to be recipients of God's revelation and not others. When Jesus said that no-one knows the Father unless the Son chooses to reveal him, he meant that God chose to come to us first — i.e. no-one can choose God without first being chosen by God, and that includes you and me.

Jesus described those who received him, and therefore God, as infants or babies. A baby is wholly dependent on its parents. It first looks to its parent in all things for life, care, and sustenance. In the same way, in the Hebrew scriptures — the Old Testament — wisdom is not found through our own intellect but begins by 'fearing the Lord'. Now, that doesn't mean being afraid of God, but having a reverential respect and deference to God, and first submitting to God in all things.

There is a name for this way of first submitting to God and it's called humility. Pastor and theologian Jon Stott wrote, "Nothing is more hostile to spiritual growth than arrogance, and nothing is more conducive to spiritual growth than humility."

In other words we cannot find God using our own intellect, and we cannot reach God (acquire holiness) in our own strength. We must first come before God in humility, dependence, and a sense of perspective that God is God and we are human.

Holy God
Thank you for choosing me
and for revealing yourself
to me through Jesus Christ.
Thank you for the gift
of your Holy Spirit who
comforts and inspires me.
I have not earned your love
nor do I deserve it,
but you have embraced me
as your beloved child.
Therefore I will
praise and thank you
and give my life to you.
Now and forever.