What seems obvious is often not true

Has it occurred to you that what seems obvious is often not true, but what's true is often not obvious?

This was impressed upon me recently when I read the Lord's message to the church in Smyrna in Revelation 2:9, "I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan." 

The Agora, the ancient city’s market space,
originally built by Alexander the Great
(photo source: blog.marshillchurch.org)

Ancient Smyrna was known for its affluence and impressive city structures, even earning the nickname "the glory of Asia". Yet the followers of Jesus experienced ongoing physical hardships and were normally found among the poorer quarters of the city. They sought to follow the one called King of the Jews; yet they were regarded in the eyes of Jews and pagans alike as godless atheists, scums of the earth.

But the Lord Jesus sends this message to his people at Smyrna that while they seemed impoverished, "yet you are rich!" On the other hand, those who seemed so zealous for God, to the point of persecuting the church, they were in truth co-horts of the evil one, "a synagogue of Satan."

What seems obvious is often not true, but what's true is often not obvious.

I'm reminded of how this rings true in defining moments in the Bible story-line. To list but a few:

- What seemed wise and good in the eyes of Adam & Eve and what they were in truth (Genesis 3)

- What was the wise and obvious course of action when Israel heard the reports of the spies about  the promised land (Numbers 13)

- Who is the true king: the lord of the entire Roman world or the one lying in a manger? (Luke 2)

- How can the one forsaken by God, deserted by his disciples, rejected by his people, unable to even save himself be Saviour of the world? (Matthew 27)

It is no surprise that this reality should continue even into our own life stories. May the Lord grant us wisdom and grace to "live by faith, not by sight." (2 Corinthians 5:7)