Psalms 119:34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.

Jesus proclaimed that the whole of the law could be summed up in two things. Love God and love one another. Believe me when I say that it takes a lot more understanding to do that than to obey all of the Mosaic and Levitical laws. Those Old Testament laws are complicated, illogical, and in many ways impractical. The one thing those laws do not do are attack you and hurt you in your daily life.

People on the other hand cause a lot of pain and suffering. Extending grace to someone who has just insulted you takes Godly understanding. It won’t come from our old nature, it has to come from our new nature as sons and daughters of God.

As a child if I was slapped I would make a fist and strike back. As a son of God if someone were to slap me now, I would seek understanding as to the heart of the one who slapped me. No one would strike out at me without motivation. Did they believe a lie about me? Did they misunderstand me or my intentions? Striking back will not clear up the misunderstanding, only understanding will make it right.

My first responsibility as a son of God is reconciliation. That is my ministry. It is the only ministry we all have an active part of in this world. Reconciliation requires mutual understanding, to see things from God’s point of view, not our own. In order to do that we must first agree with God.

Job 32:8 But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.