What You Don’t Understand

“It seems to me that the older I get the less I think I really understand God,” writes Christopher Wright, in The God I Don’t Understand. Ironically, Wright, a theological heavyweight, brilliantly explains some of the thorniest parts of scripture, such as the problem of evil and the end times. However, his point is that as much as we can be certain about biblical teaching, the God of the Bible is ultimately beyond our full comprehension…and that’s a good thing.

In the early days of Christianity, there was a popular philosophy creeping into the church called Gnosticism. In a nutshell, gnosis, or knowledge, was competing with faith—faith in Jesus. John the apostle had a real problem with this and tackled Gnosticism head-on in his first epistle. His letter indicates people were striving to gain a special, spiritual knowledge while putting less importance on, even denying, the material reality of the incarnation and work of Jesus of Nazareth.

I find myself doing this all the time. From the moment I wake up, I’m tempted to see all the headlines, watch how-to videos, and be up to speed on all the latest innovations. I think if I can just know more, even more about the Bible, I will be more content. Knowledge is a seductive idol.

Recognizing my sin, last fall I weaned myself off social media. I remember the first day feeling cravings, almost like hunger pangs, to know what was happening in the world. Who won the election? Which baseball players were traded? Why is there so much traffic on Greenwood? Instead of asking Google, I challenged myself to ask a real person. Guess what happened.

People I know and love generally knew the answers to my questions. They somehow knew Trump won. And sometimes they didn’t know the answers but had an opinion, or thought they knew the answers but didn’t. Even if I got an answer that made no sense (I’m pretty sure Trump is not responsible for traffic on Greenwood), I got the true benefit of strengthening a relationship. I learned more about how my friend thinks, and we grew closer as we discussed…whatever we discussed. How much does the subject really matter in the end?

Paul clarified his priorities regarding knowledge to the Philippians,

“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” (Phil 3:10,11)

We all have a desire to gain knowledge, but that desire was given to us by God especially in order to know him. Jesus calls us “friends”, and we bring very little to the table in our relationship with Christ. Our calling is to grow in knowledge of his ways, obey his will, and experience a kingdom-centered life with him. Growing our understanding in fellowship with him. It can’t be apart from him.

I’ve heard many sermons about knowing in your brain versus knowing in your heart. Experiencing life with Christ is vastly different than just reading about him. I’m reminded of Caleb sharing at a recent men’s breakfast. He brought amazing photographs of subterranean glaciers in Antarctica and wild Saharan lions. As much as I learned from Caleb, I still don’t know what it feels like to touch a lion’s paw. No matter how much I study about lions, Caleb has something I can’t have unless I gain a different kind of knowledge, a more intimate, experiential knowledge “in the biblical sense,” as church people like to say.

God wants us to grow in knowledge, but for a specific purpose, knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, as it says in 1 Peter 1:5-8:

“… make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Which brings us back to the God we can’t fully understand. Wright makes a point in his book that, although the problem of evil is not explained for us in scripture, his Word is filled with examples of how to relate to him when we experience it. The patriarchs and prophets cried, complained, pled, prayed, and sang. In short, they knew him, and we can too. The older we get, and even after we die, we can grow closer to him and know him more each day.

Maybe you’re ready for a knowledge fast like me. If so, start by asking real people the questions you would normally ask the internet. Also, challenge yourself to spend more time in prayer and in the Word, simply enjoying being with your heavenly father, putting a priority on his presence over amassing more knowledge in the wrong direction. You might discover how little you truly understand, while still knowing deeply the goodness of God.