Now THAT Is Deep

Recently I listened to a recording of a teaching that was ... deep. I tend to be unenthusiastic about "deep" teachings, because my experience with them is that they are irrelevant and incomprehensible. If I want mental stimulation, I’ll do a tax return, thank you. I listen to teachings for life, not for a mental "high."

Sometimes, those of us who don’t understand "deep" teachings feel a little inferior, especially when everyone around us is ooh-ing and ah-ing about what we can’t understand. But maybe we aren’t as inferior as we think we are.

It seems to me that the really deep things of life appear to be shallow, when shallow people are looking at them.

A year or so ago, my second novel was reviewed by a young lady in her early twenties who has a web-site and boatloads of natural talent. I’m not real fond of her, because she gave me a lousy review. I’d be the first to admit the book wasn’t as good as it should have been, but I also don’t think it was as bad as she thought it was. At the same time, I’d read some of the books she had on her list of favorites, and I thought most of them were pretty lousy.

The fact is, it doesn’t matter how talented a 22-year-old is, she’s still only 22. She’s still immature, and her tastes are immature. I’m not condemning youth--we can’t really skip that age, even if we wanted to--but it is highly over-rated, especially by the young. They tend to think they’re really wise and really smart and that anything that appears to be simple is shallow and/or old-fashioned.

Like God’s love. It’s way too easy to get sidetracked by theological discussions about this or that, and shrug off God’s love. Too basic. Kindergarten stuff. I outgrew the need to learn more about that years ago. Have you ever thought that way? Have you ever thought anything even remotely similar to that?

There are not a whole lot of things that the Bible refers to as deep, but one of those things is the love of God. If you want pure incomprehensibility, God’s love is IT. Anyone who has really lived regards God’s love with awe. They may get emotional about it. They may have difficulty finding words to express their thoughts about God’s love. They know it. A little. They know, at least, that it has changed their lives, and they sure don’t take God’s love lightly.

Meanwhile, the shallow look on with raised eyebrows, wondering what all the fuss is about. Yeah, God’s love, we know all about that, let’s move on to something interesting.

God’s love may not be mentally stimulating, and knowing it certainly won’t puff you up. It merely changes you. It takes you places you never dreamed you could go, and makes you into someone you never dreamed you could be.

It may look shallow, but nothing is deeper than God’s love.

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