| In 1 Corinthians 13:11, the apostle Paul writes: When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. During our childhood, most of us took great pleasure in opening a coloring book and a box of crayons. “Staying inside the lines” might have been challenging initially, but that challenge was conquered long before we started middle school! Yet, it was during our middle and high school years that our crayons were replaced with compasses and protractors, as eyes were opened to the world of mathematics that surrounded us. Embracing the challenge was the first step in our efforts to “understand.” Prior to our teen years, our minds were simply not able to comprehend what awaited us. But, as a gifted teacher invested the time to help us “see”, our eyes began to open! Lines, segments, and angles were all included in our coloring books; but, our “focus” was on the picture not the geometrical shapes of the picture. Question: Are you currently struggling with understanding an area in your life or, perhaps, in the life of your spouse or child(ren)? Challenge: Are you being intentional to grow spiritually so that your “understanding” can increase? Illustration: The Four Color Theorem Using a Google search to find difficult math problems to both understand and solve, one grabbed my attention based upon its description: “This one is as easy to state as it is hard to prove.”  The Four Color Theorem is included within an article entitled “10 of the Toughest Math Problems Ever Solved”, found on PopularMechanics.com. The following is an excerpt from the previously listed source.Grab any map and four crayons. It is possible to color each state (or country) on the map, following one rule: No states that share a border get the same color. The fact that any map can be colored with five colors – The Five Color Theorem – was proven in the 19th century. But getting that down to four took until 1976.Two mathematicians at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Kenneth Appel and Wolfgang Hakan, found a way to reduce the proof to a large, finite number of cases. With computer assistance, they exhaustively checked the nearly 2,000 cases, and ended up with the unprecedented style of proof. Wrap Around: The Apostle Paul knew the importance of putting away and maturing in Christ. In addition, this brilliant-minded student of the Word knew that his understanding was dependent upon the illumination of the Holy Spirit in his life. Being able to “see and understand” what God is seeking to do around us and through us requires the Holy Spirit to “turn on the light” in our lives. |