Have you ever tried assembling a new piece of furniture without carefully reading the directions? You skim the instructions because the assembly seems straightforward. You’re confident. You get halfway through—and then something doesn’t fit. A board is backward. A bracket is upside-down. You’re missing something, but you’re not sure what. Eventually, you realize you must start over. When you go back and follow the steps in order, everything suddenly makes sense. It’s easy to read ahead in a story and miss the connection between what just happened and what is happening now. We often do this with the Gospel accounts—reading one section, one parable, one event at a time—without seeing how they are meant to connect with one another. The miracle before helps us understand the miracle now, but only if we slow down and pay attention.
