Delight in Discovery

"The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib; but Israel does not know, my people do not consider."

Isaiah 1:3

Yesterday I saw a remake of "The Miracle Worker," a drama I first saw in black and white.  My mind went back to the first time I saw the unforgettable scenes depicting Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller, especially the classic dining room scene.  I found it laborious to watch.  But the struggle made the end of the film so sweet when the light inside Helen finally turned on as the water washed over her hands.  How hard it must have been to break through Helen's deafness and blindness!  Inside that head was an amazing, intelligent mind isolated from communication through normal means.  Anne Sullivan was really no miracle worker in that she used natural techniques:  she firmly believed in her methods of teaching, was consistent in her approach, and was able to love the unlovable child who was clothed with violence and every manipulation tactic.  But the change in Helen was miraculous!  She learned to speak, read, write (12 books!), and even graduated from university with a B.A.  What an amazing transformation we see from the kitchen scene to the water pump!

Who do I identify with?  You might think as a pastor that I identify with Anne Sullivan the teacher.  Not me.  I identify with Helen Keller, because the Bible teaches that in spiritual matters all are deaf, blind, naked, lost, and even dead!  I was senseless in my sin, not even recognizing God or my need for Him.  Christ is my teacher, and the Holy Spirit makes men to be born again and helps us understand God's Word.  How senseless Helen was as she destroyed everything around her!  She was stubborn, thankless, rebellious, and violent.  Yet Anne remained faithful and reaped the rewards of a lifetime friend and companion in Helen.  Though Helen was blind and deaf in body, when she was asked later about her belief in God she answered in the affirmative, "I always knew He was there, but I didn't know His name!"  The Holy Spirit had illuminated her heart and gave her that Living Water which Christ had promised to all who trust in Him.

I love watching the water scene when the "light comes on" in Helen.  How can the tears be suppressed?  See her excitement to know what things are called!  A new world of discovery opened up in an instant, and she continued to pursue truth and knowledge for the rest of her days.  I wonder if Christians are as excited about the world of spiritual truth and discovery opened to them through the Bible and the teaching influence of the Holy Spirit.  It is great to know that water is called "water," but how much greater to know WHO God is:  that He is our Jehovah Rapha (God our Healer) and Jehovah Jireh (God our Provider) and Jehovah Shalom (God our Peace) and much more!  Even still more thought-provoking, consider what wonderful days of exciting discovery await us as we grow in learning - not simply facts about God - but knowing God Himself.  Would He send the Holy Spirit to take up residence within believers to hide Himself?  No!  God did so that we might know Him intimately as He knows us.

Jesus is the Good Teacher, the ultimate miracle worker.  He does not grow tired or weary and loves us completely.  Oh, that we would know Him and delight in Him alone!  There is so much He wants to tell us on this side of eternity and we are often content with comforts and the passing trinkets of this earthly existence.  God makes every morning new:  a new date, new hours and seconds, clean beams of sunlight which cut through puffy clouds and fresh rain which causes the earth to spring forth with new growth.  Today is the beginning of a new age of potential discovery with God as we rejoice in our Saviour.  Or...we can grovel back to our old sins and blindly eat rubbish and drink the numbing poison this world offers.  May God open our eyes to see Him in a fresh way today that we might delight in our God.  What a testimony against God's people, that an ox has more sense of belonging and knowledge of his owner than some believers do concerning their God!  Let us rejoice not only in the day the LORD has made, but in the LORD who has made the day and caused His light to shine within us!