Only Seeing the Trees

14 Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” 16 And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17 And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” 20 “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” 21 And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

Mark 8:14-21 (ESV)

There is an old saying that goes something like this, “you can’t see forest for the trees” and that is what you have going on in the minds of the disciples as best and simply as I can present it to you. It means that sometimes we are just too close to a situation to get much out of it and the actual purpose for the experience is completely lost on us.  It is easy to sit back and read the bible and say well they were ignorant and that Jesus was trying to tell them  that the influence of the Pharisees and Herod where  bad and that they would bring nothing but problems for the disciples and Jesus in the near future. But we are 2000 plus years removed from the day and the boat they were in. Yet often we have this same issue in our own lives because we are either not willing to or not able to get past our situation or trial to understand what God’s word and the council of Godly people is really all about. We are just as blind and ignorant as anyone of the disciples and Jesus had been physically with them. They were just too close to him to appreciate what and who He was.

The disciples were mere humans just like you and I; they were thinking and living in the flesh. Allowing it to control how they viewed the words of Jesus. They did not allow themselves understanding of the real issue. It is almost as if; and we do it today, they did not desire to hear what He was trying to say. That is why we have some of the teachings within the Christian faith that we have today. They have either been misread to allow someone a right or to prevent someone else from receiving a right. It is a shame and a sin when we fail to see what God has divined for our well-being when we misrepresent or misinterpret His words. I challenge you to always take a step back and ask the question how this applies to me and my life. If you back far enough away from the trees you will be able to see the whole forest; that is how God sees it. He has the whole picture and only desires what is best for you have a Blessed day as you walk in the light of His word.