Things to get stuck on

Lately when I have been studying the Bible (sadly, this often gets pushed aside when my schedule gets crazy) there have been some things that I've gotten stuck on.
I think sometimes as Christians, or looking at Christians, there seems to be this unsaid rule that one should automatically understand scripture right as they read it and then be able to apply it immediately. Though the Holy Spirit definitely helps us understand the scriptures and give us revelation (sometimes, right away), I think it is good to be stuck sometimes. It is good to be frustrated, to really wrestle with a passage, to let it sink into your mind and bug you. It is good to read the Bible and be uncomfortable. Maybe it's uncomfortable because it seems to simple or because the wording just throws you off. Maybe it's uncomfortable because you know that you don't follow it, you fail when you try, and then you know you need help.
Here are a few things that I have been stuck on lately:

The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:29)
It feels better just to skim it and move on, but it's worth it to read it, want it, try it, fall short, ask for help and repeat over and over.
Here's an excerpt from my journal:

"The Sermon on the Mount is an unashamed challenge to the human heart. It challenges our stubborn selfishness and challenges us to reach towards the beauty, freedom, and wholeness we've always desired but never thought we could have."

One of my Religion and Philosophy/Christan Ministry professors said something regarding the Sermon on the Mount and it's message that struck me:
"The law says, "This is what I expect." Grace says, "I accept you anyway."-Dr. Craig Smith.

Something else I stumbled across today which resulted in some cognitive dissonance was John 12:44-50:
And Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me.
"He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me.
"I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.
"If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
"He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.
"For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.
"I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me."

This makes sense, but I'm still wrestling with it, in particular, how it effects John 13:1-20, when Jesus washes the disciples' feet. It is good to take things in context. Any good exegete will tell you that.

So I say to you, any readers of this blog, when/if you read the word-let it bother you. Don't feel guilty if you don't get it right away (even if it takes years). Keep wrestling. Keep letting it bother you. Mostly, keep asking the Holy Spirit for wisdom, revelation, and discernment.