Holy Boldness

no respecter of persons in this regard. The proud will always be resisted. Even those who have walked with God will find Him strangely silent or coy if they began to entertain a spirit of superiority over others or over-fa miliarity towards Him. That is why the scriptures warn, ‘If you think that you stand, take heed lest you fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12) Why was Jesus so happy about this characteristic of the Father? Because He agreed with His Father’s ways. If we think about it, no one wants to see the proud prosper and we all love it when the smug and the arrogant get excluded from the party. Truth comes naturally to children because they are simple and carry no prejudices. As people are taught to compare themselves with others, jealousies and envy, and prejudices skew and obscure the obvious. But as long as a person remains innocent, he or she has no reason or motive to reject the truth. For many years this has been one of the most significant scriptures in my life. I think I could say that v. 25 has impacted my understanding of the ways of the Kingdom and the scriptures more than any other. I can almost taste Jesus’ delight. Jesus thanks God for the reality that truth evades the understanding of the proud. The Greek word used for giving thanks suggests Jesus’ deep and profound agreement with God. Jesus praises God, giving His full and hearty consent to this characteristic of the Father. The fact that God hides things from the arrogant but reveals them to the innocent has always amazed me. I love to watch the innocent grab hold of deep truths. Jesus seemed to have an extraordinary delight in this and the longer I walk with the Lord, the more I appreciate and resonate with that agreement. The humble will always have access to the deep secrets of God because they are willing to learn new things. The proud always walk in the dark. Secret council is given to those who seek intimacy with the Lord. I have watched this principle play out first hand. I love it when people from other nations come to America who are not familiar with the ways of the Western world. They speak from the simplicity of their native soil. They are untainted and therefore carry a wisdom that belies the sophistication of western culture. It cuts through the arrogance and pride of America and strikes the heart of the matter. People from other cultures often observe realities that our culture takes for granted or are too close to notice. That is why, whenever I engage another culture, I expect to hear The Simplicity of the Nations

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