As a teacher and professor, I constantly watch the eyes of students, listen for the timbre of their voices, and consider the freshness in their words. I am on the lookout of students who are discovering insight. Insight is marker on the journey of learning.
On our journey with Christ, Spiritual Insight is essential for growth and maturity. As a spiritual child, we had a pattern of thinking and understanding, but as we mature, our thinking and understanding must and will change:
When I was a child, I spoke, thought, and reasoned in childlike ways as we all do. But when I became a man, I left my childish ways behind (1 Corinthians 13:11, The Voice).
There is knowledge of self and knowledge of God. It is hard to tell which comes before the other. Spiritual insight is a mirror and a window, understanding yourself and experiencing God.
Here is my definition of Spiritual Insight:
Spiritual Insight: To cooperate with the Holy Spirit in accepting and struggling with Christ’s life giving insights in Scripture, self-understanding, practical wisdom, and God’s purpose.
It is so true that our knowledge is limited:
For now, we can only see a dim and blurry picture of things, as when we stare into polished metal. I realize that everything I know is only part of the big picture. But one day, when Jesus arrives, we will see clearly, face-to-face. In that day, I will fully know just as I have been wholly known by God (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Even though limited, our knowledge, our growing insight is essential to growing in Christ. So where does this insight begin? Read this brief excerpt from an old story in the first book of the Bible as shared in The Voice:
Jacob woke up from his sleep.
Jacob (to himself): There is no doubt in my mind that the Eternal One is in this place—and I didn’t even know it!
But even as he said this, a bit of fear came over him.
Jacob: This place is absolutely awesome! It can be none other than the house of God and the gateway into heaven! (Genesis 28:16-17).
To personalize and apply Spiritual Insight, consider these questions:
- In what unexpected places have you found God?
- What insight does that experience give you into the nature of God?
- What does the experience reveal about you?
- What Bible verse or story reminds you of that experience?
Copyright © Richard Leslie Parrott, Ph.D.