Tailor-Made Brain Power

I got acquainted with Ivana during a series of meetings I held in the former Soviet Union a few years ago. She was a sweet girl, very open and sincere, opening her heart up to us as we shared Jesus night after night.

At the close of the series of presentations, we had a baptism — in fact, several baptisms. And I knew Ivana wanted to be baptized, but the local church leaders there said no. She couldn't participate.

Well, I didn't push it. After all, I was a visitor. These people had their own system, their way of deciding when the time was right. There were probably factors I didn't know about. So I let it go.

But that's just the first half of the story. A few years later — and this is quite recent now — I was back in that very city, visiting that same church where we'd been before. Many old friends, of course, and wonderful reunions. And there was Ivana still. She had the same quiet smile, the same warmth. And as the weekend continued, I could tell again that this young woman really did want to be baptized.

So finally I just had to ask. We were about to leave again but I simply sat down with these church leaders and confronted them. What was going on? Why wouldn't they give their blessing for Ivana to take part in this same experience, this rite of passage that the Bible commands? What was the problem?

Well, when they told me I honestly thought I had misunderstood the reply through the translator. I couldn't believe what I was hearing and I asked them to repeat it. But another pastor who spoke English quite well broke in and confirmed what I had heard. This Ivana — and that's not her real name — was mildly retarded. Which we had already noticed as we visited with her; she was slightly disabled. But because of this handicap, the local church leaders didn't think it was right for the church to take into membership someone with that problem, that stigma.

And I want to tell you — I wept. Literally. I was in tears of anger and confusion as I left that town. As I got on the plane, she was right there waving, and I could hardly bear to think about what was happening. Because this young woman did understand the Christian gospel. Not all the fine points, not all the nuances of Hebrew and Greek and the prophecies of the book of Revelation. But she understood John 3:16; that was for sure. She knew what Calvary was and how Jesus had died for her sins. And I hope she understands that a loving God is going to have her in His kingdom, maybe ahead of some of those who tried to put roadblocks in the way.

Well, you know, that hard, hard story — that vivid memory which still causes a flush of shame and frustration in me even today as I share these words — takes us into a difficult but interesting question. Because the world is filled with many, many very bright people — and then there's the rest of us. People at all places on the IQ spectrum. Genius types and not-so-genius types. And we want to pose this as our title for the week: I PRAYED FOR WISDOM — AND GO SAID NO! Is it the plan of heaven that only bright people, 90-plus percentile achievers will be in the kingdom of heaven? Is wisdom a gift that everyone should expect? And here's another question: will being a Christian make you smarter?

A TV character once complained about his brilliant girlfriend who had joined the stratosphere-IQ club for geniuses, "Mensa." "What about the rest of us?" he asked. "What do we join? Densa?" And is there a place in the New Jerusalem for some of us who might have a hard time navigating the golden streets, who can't hold a map of heaven right-side up?

Friend, I want to tell you something today. I believe the Word of God contains extremely good news for all of us. If you're a genius — if God lumped you in with Solomon and Daniel and other high-crust heroes — well, that's wonderful. There's good news for you this week. And if you're somewhere in the middle like most of us, I want to share with you that God has incredible plans to make us wise, to bless what we have and double it, triple it, quadruple it for His kingdom. And friend, if you really and truly are struggling with the fact that your prayers for wisdom haven't been answered, you don't think — if you're maybe even grappling with the same challenge as my precious friend Ivana who, through no fault of her own, "sees through a glass darkly," then praise God, the news is best of all for you.

You know, the book of Isaiah, chapter 35, has a marvelous bit of gospel truth which a man named George Frederick Handel put to music 259 years ago, back in 1741. Maybe the alto notes even come into your mind as I share these words of great promise:

"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb [shall] sing."

You know, that's a radiant promise linked to the Second Coming of "The Messiah," but I think Isaiah left out just one segment of our population simply because it wasn't easy to express in biblical times. True, the blind shall see, and the deaf shall hear and the lame person will leap in the air with joy. But all around this globe, people of all ages who peered through the darkness and the confusion of mental disabilities will all at once stand up straight, their eyes gleaming with God-given intelligence. Maybe before, Lucifer had robbed them of the ability to do much more than learn John 3:16. In fact, maybe they could barely murmur the name "Jesus." But friend, God is going to have those people in His kingdom. Some of us who think we're real smart may sit at their feet near the Tree of Life and marvel at the brilliance of their testimony for the Lord. What do you think of that?

But I want to focus as well on the broad masses where most of the rest of us find ourselves. On a bell-shaped intelligence curve, we're all in that big sensible center. We got a lot of B pluses in college; we had to study for our grades. Doing our taxes takes several evenings. Memorizing the Bible is hard for us. Sermons are difficult to even listen to, let alone understand. And if we had to confess, some of us have just honestly never even read our Bibles all the way through; we bogged down in Second Chronicles every time we tried. What does the Bible say for those who have knelt down and prayed the exact same prayer as Solomon, which we find right there in Second Chronicles chapter one, maybe just a few pages after where we always quit. Here's his prayer:

"[Lord], You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. Now, Lord God, let Your promise to my father David be confirmed, for You have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of Yours?"

Of course, if you read the Lord's answer, which is found in verses 11 and 12, you find God saying yes to Solomon. He made him wise; in fact, heaven bestowed intellect on him unlike anything that's ever been seen since. In addition, God poured out every other blessing as well: wealth and power and influence and honor and the whole nine yards. But clearly, the Lord sometimes says yes to the sincere request for knowledge and sometimes He doesn't seem to. How should we respond if we get left out?

Let's explore quickly just one principle right here and save the rest for tomorrow. But the Bible teaches that God always gives us the tools we need to do whatever task He has in mind for us. Just a few pages back, in First Chronicles 22, the retiring King David says this to his son:

"May the Lord give you discretion and understanding [or wisdom] when HE puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God."

Who chose Solomon to be king over Israel? God, of course. And so God gave him the necessary wisdom and intelligence — and frankly, some to spare left over — to do the job heaven had chosen for him. It's interesting that if and when God makes us smart, He clearly expects that wisdom to be linked to obedience to Him. Did you notice that in the verse we just read?

"May the Lord give you [wisdom] . . . so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God."

Back in Exodus chapter 31, when Israel was just embarking on the task of building the tabernacle — the tabernacle GOD commissioned — we read this:

"I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri . . . and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts — to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship. . . . Also I have given skill to ALL the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you."

And you know, the King James Version says "wisdom," not just skill and knowledge. God gave these men not just generic, Readers-Digest-IQ-test wisdom, but wisdom directed at these very skills: carving, sculpting, fashioning that tabernacle. He reached right down and gave them tailor-made wisdom, sparkling with specificity, to do the exact job He wanted them to achieve for Him.

I guess the task for us is plain. Find out where God wants us working, then ask, and know that a miracle of THAT kind of wisdom is on its way.

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