John 12:16 These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.
Purpose for Life
Most big things are beyond our sight. For instance, take this world. If you look out the window right now you probably observe that the ground is flat. Now, there may be mountains, but you would not perceive that this is a circle or orb on which we are living. For centuries, people thought the earth was flat because they were going by what they could see and that was limited to their perspective. Now, I could have the proper perspective by going into space and looking down, or I could just trust what I know to be true.
John 12:16 says, These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him. What are these things to which the Bible is referring? They are the events the disciples had witnessed and the Scriptures they knew. They were putting together what they had read from the Scriptures and what they had remembered from life. Up until that point they did not understand the big picture.
Remember that you dont have to understand Gods grand design to know that He has one. For the disciples this included both a cosmic redemptive plan but also them personally. They were part of that plan. Does God have a plan for the world? Yes. Does God have a plan for you? Yes. Do you have to understand every bit of it right now? No.
You should understand more of the big picture than most people because of what you know from Scripture. There is so much that people dont know that you can know if you pay attention to what God has said. So many people who saw Jesus missed who He actually was because He was not the king of Messiah they were expecting. They missed what God actually intended when they might have known more had they more fully known the Scriptures.
Remember also that faith in Jesus produces purpose in life. Faith and purpose go together. Do I know the big picture? No, but I trust Jesus. If I trust Jesus, I can know that there is a purpose. If I follow a day and a step at a time, I will end up where I need to be in life. Dont be so intent upon the distant future that you miss the lesson of today. Trust God for the long run that is out of sight. Faith is important because it gives us purpose for life. These disciples went on to change the world. They had a grand purpose that became ever clearer in their minds as they trusted the risen Lord Jesus.