{"id":1580,"date":"2011-04-11T10:58:09","date_gmt":"2011-04-11T16:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/?p=1580"},"modified":"2011-04-11T11:06:33","modified_gmt":"2011-04-11T17:06:33","slug":"how-to-follow-god-when-you-dont-understand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/04\/11\/how-to-follow-god-when-you-dont-understand\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Follow God When You Don’t Understand"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>God is big!<\/p>\n

Sometimes he’s just too big…and too difficult to understand.<\/p>\n

Isaiah said God’s ways are not our ways–well that’s the truth. However, even if we don’t\u00a0understand him, we have to follow him–and that can be difficult.<\/p>\n

How do you follow God when you can’t understand him?<\/p>\n

The Spiritual Sight of the Saints<\/h2>\n

I talked about Padre Pio<\/strong> in the youth group the other day. They were pretty blown away by the stigmata<\/strong>.\u00a0To them, it looked like punishment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I explained how his wounds were a share in Christ’s sufferings. Really, it was a great honor. Padre Pio understood this.<\/p>\n

The Saints, I told them, understand things differently than we do. <\/strong>When you get that advanced in the spiritual life, you see more like God sees. From\u00a0the divine perspective, Padre Pio’s\u00a0self-sacrificing generosity is the ultimate gift. It shows his deep love and trust. From the human perspective, it just looks like it hurts.<\/p>\n

The Man Born Blind<\/h2>\n

In John 9:1-40, Jesus heals a man who’s blind from birth. Jesus, the Light of the World, “enlightens” him.<\/p>\n

Not only does this “Man Born Blind” receive physical sight, he gets a sort of spiritual sight as well. He understands things in a different way <\/strong>and has no problem trusting what he sees in Jesus. He tells the Pharisees that Jesus is a prophet. When he finds out Jesus is the Messiah, he believes and worships him.<\/p>\n

The Pharisees can see physically, but they’re blind to who Jesus is.\u00a0They don’t want to see because it means they must change. They don’t want to give up their own agendas for power, prestige and wealth. So, they refuse to let in his Light! They refuse to see or accept the Truth.<\/p>\n

Baptism, the “Enlightening”<\/h2>\n

The aspect of Baptism most emphasized in the Early Church was the photizmoi<\/em>, or enlightening. In Baptism, our minds are opened to the divine. We see things in a new way.<\/strong> That’s why, in the first few centuries of the Church, they waited to do in depth catechesis until after Baptism. They knew you couldn’t truly understand the things of God until the Holy Spirit disposed you to understand.<\/p>\n

Actually, this is something that continues to\u00a0happen for us throughout our Christian lives<\/strong>. Our response of faith and generosity\u00a0with God gives us a deeper share of the Holy Spirit. The more you trust, the more you are enlightened. The more you’re enlightened, the more you\u00a0understand.<\/p>\n

Spirituality Takeaway<\/h2>\n

Have you ever understood something, some concept in a class perhaps, but a friend didnt? You tell them the answer, they look at you funny and you say, “Just trust me.” It’s like that\u00a0with God.<\/p>\n

How do you follow God when you don’t understand him? Sometimes it comes down to trust and generosity with God.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is a continual enlightening that must take place in our spiritual lives.\u00a0When it does, our minds are opened to new and different\u00a0possibilities. Until then, you have to go on trust.\u00a0And the more you trust and give, the more you understand.<\/p>\n

I’ve questioned many things over the years. When I\u00a0really researched it, I’ve always found answers in the Church. Now, I don’t question–I trust. I may not understand right away, but that’s just because I don’t know\u00a0everything.<\/p>\n