Puzzled as Usual

There are things in the Bible that I don't understand. Now, if you are saying, "What? I understand everything!", you're lying. But some of the things I'm unclear on don't seem like they should be so unclear.

Here's one:

Children , obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth (Eph. 6:1-3).

Simple, right? All good parents quote that to their children. All good Sunday School teachers tell the kids this. No problem. Well, not for you, maybe, but I'm not clear.

Look, I get that children are to obey their parents (and honor them). But here's the question: When does that end? Since it's tied to "honor your father and mother," maybe you can stop obeying them when you can stop honoring them? No, that doesn't seem right. I think you should always honor your parents. So, since it's not when you stop honoring them and it's clearly not when they stop being your parents, it must be when you stop being their child. That's the common answer. But I can't find a biblical definition of when someone stops being the child of their parents. Americans immediately think "at 18", but no such biblical definition exists. Scholars tell me that Joseph and Mary were likely in their early teens, but no parent today is going to buy that a 14-year-old doesn't have to obey anymore. Some try, "As long as they're in your house," but since a lot of these kids are part of the boomerang generation -- you know, the one that keeps coming back -- they'd be children for a long time. Or is it simply that we must always obey our parents? I feel like I'm the only one asking these questions, but it's not entirely clear to me.

Or try this one:

For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh (Gen. 2:24).

Paul had some troubles with this one, I think. About this he said, "This mystery is great" (Eph. 5:32). In a conversation I was having with multiple people about homeschooling and the responsibility of the father to teach the children, I asked, "If it's the father's responsibility, then he can't hand it to others (like the mother, the teacher, or the pastor)?" Part of the response was, "Mom is one flesh with me." Now, wait. I understand that biblically it says that, but what exactly does that mean? If they are actually one flesh, then when he eats, she is fed. When he sleeps, she is rested. Parents can't share the load of watching the children because there is only one. And all that stuff about "wives submit to your husbands" is nonsense because they are their husbands! I am, of course, being silly, but I'm trying to illustrate my confusion. To what extent and in what sense are the husband and wife "one flesh"? I'm quite certain it is much more than mere sexual union, but I also know there is still a separation of the two. Oh, I don't know. I'm with Paul.

Sure, there are lots of things many of us don't understand. Despite Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHaye's certainty regarding the Revelation, I'm quite confident that I'm not the only one that is not clear on that book. Parts of Hebrews are elusive to me. Ecclesiastes is a bit tough in places. And, seriously, what is all that "begat" thing doing in the Bible? No, I'm quite sure I'm not the only one who finds some passages more difficult than others. I'm just disappointed that I can't seem to get these "easy" passages down while everyone else is crystal clear on what they mean. Yeah, I know, "too heavenly minded to be any earthly good." I've been told that before. Or maybe it's just, "Dude, you think way too much." Who knows?