All I Want Is To Understand

1 Kings 2 10-12, 3:3-14 is such a topical passage for what we are currently going through in the United States. Wait, let me expand that thought..what we are going through in the world.

For a few years now I have been in discussion about where we are in history. I can't explain it, but all the people I get into this conversation with agrees; we are on the verge of a very significant change. I've spoken with teachers, ministers, business people, friends, and family and we all agree we can feel "something". Nobody can put a name to it, but we all agree it's there.

The conversation usually goes from the recognition that a very significant change is coming to whether or not we are prepared for this change. I remember sitting in a room of future ministerial hopefuls and having this conversation. As we spoke over dinner I stopped to look at the people in that room and realized that God was already making plans for this change. The people gathered were of different ages, from different backgrounds, and had different ideas about what their faith stood for. However we did have one thing in common; a deep love for God and a deep respect for one another's convictions.

We were able to listen, agree, disagree, and speak our minds and hearts, and do it all without judgment. We did our best to try and understand why people saw their faith in the way they did. We took into account each other's entire history and let the people they were speak for them, and not let the people we are dictate the conversation. In other words we did our best to find within the conversations a common ground upon which we could build.

In our passage King David has passed on and his son, Solomon, is now King. When Solomon is told by God that he can ask for anything, Solomon doesn't ask for riches or power. Instead, Solomon first thanks God for the blessings God has given to his father, then he admits to God that he doesn't know what to do, not as well as his father, David, did anyway. Finally, Solomon simply asks for the ability to understand and discern what is best for God and for God's people.

When one considers that Solomon was most likely still a teenager when he became king that request is nothing short of refreshing, especially in today's culture when our societies try their very best to teach our teens that it's all about riches and fame.

So, this message is for the youth and young at heart in our world - Do your best to understand what your role in today's world is and never be afraid to ask for help to get there. Solomon did it. And just as Solomon did so are you are standing at the precipice of change. Be ready for it, my friends, and know in your hearts what is good and just for all the people of the world.