Simple or Sophisticated

A funny thing happened to me recently.  I have always wondered about my IQ and how I measure up with the rest of humanity intelligence-wise.  So I took an accredited IQ test a couple of months ago.  It was surprisingly difficult.  Thinking about it, I don't know why it surprised me that an accredited IQ test was hard.  I can tell you that it wasn't because I thought I was smart enough to ace an IQ-test.  I do remember, however, coming away from that test feeling like the most dim-witted person alive.  True story.

Fortunately I read Luke 10:21 soon after:
"At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do." (NIVUK)

The word translated as 'wise' is sophon, which is where the word 'sophisticated' comes from.  {Sidenote:  Interestingly enough, the first use of the word 'sophisticated' in the English language was with reference to something that has been 'tampered with' or 'mixed with a foreign substance.'  Ironically the meaning changed (or was tampered with...) to something more positive in the 20th century.}

Anyway.  Jesus says this after He sent out the 72 and they returned jubilant that 'even the demons submitted' to them.  Jesus then tells them not to make such a big fuss about spirits submitting to them.  He gave them the authority.  They should rather marvel at the knowledge that their names are written in heaven.  Jesus is making a big statement here.  There is something more important than doing incredible, supernatural things.  And that is that we are known and loved by the Almighty God.

It's that simple.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is that simple.  We are loved by God and we are free to love Him back through Jesus' sacrifice.  It's simple enough that kids can get it.  It's simple enough that we don't need big IQ's or doctorate degrees to understand it.  In fact, I think that trying to understand it and make sense of God sometimes gets in the way of us really getting it.  Faith precedes understanding; faith in knowing that we are deeply loved by God.

How we respond, of course, is key.  Do we choose to love God back or not?  If we do pick the former, Jesus says that by loving the people around us, we will show our love to God (Matthew 25:40).  Intellect, money, skills, gifts, talents, influence, lineage, etc. are not, as we tend to think, the measure of a person.  These are only the tools with which we can show our love to those around us.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13 about this.  Even if we have great wisdom, great knowledge, great spiritual gifts and exercise great Christian practices (i.e. using the tools we were given), but we do not have love, we have nothing.  We're just making noise.  However, our capacity to love does not depend on any of these things.  It depends only on our willingness to love.  As Samuel Cross writes in his famous hymn: "Love to the loveless shown that they might lovely be."  As we are loved by God.

I received the letter with my IQ score some days after the test and I'm happy to report that it was not as bad as I thought it would be.  But the score doesn't matter anymore.  There are more important things to consider:  to love God and to love my neighbour.  I think I'm finally getting it.