We Can Only Handle So Much

Scripture
“I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won’t draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you. Everything the Father has is also mine. That is why I’ve said, ‘He takes from me and delivers to you.’” (John 16:12-15 MSG)

We Can Only Handle So Much
If you aren’t feeling some sort of information, emotional and relational overload these days then you may be the healthiest person on the planet. All sorts of media bombard us. Naming one “social media” is beyond ironic - it should be called “anti-social” or “socio-pathic”.

We have moments of clarity when things start to make sense and pieces of our mental and social puzzles fall together in a coherent picture. But it takes time and experience. Jesus knows us intimately and had first-hand experience with friends like us who heard his words but didn’t understand them until sometimes decades later.

They were all gathered around a table with food and wine. Conversation lasted for hours but the tension of impending doom limited comprehension. Jesus promised his Spirit would be their truthful guide, freer to operate than he was as a human.

We long for hope, purpose and meaning in many of the absurdities of life and cry “Spirit teach me what I’m missing in all this.” It’s not necessarily just a text that helps - it is the relational presence of Jesus by his Spirit guiding us.

A Prayer for Today
Loving God, if even Jesus’ closest friends had limited capacity for understanding what he taught, grant us the humility to continue to be learners from Him. We seek certainty when we need relationship. Grant us eyes and ears that are tuned to the Spirit who will guide us in paths of justice, mercy, peace and hope …. For Jesus’ sake