How Much Do You Know?

Scripture

I realized that no one can discover everything God is doing {in this world} under the sun. Not even the wisest people discover everything, no matter what they claim.

~Ecclesiastes 8:17, NLT

Quote

Our knowledge is finite; our ignorance is infinite.

~Ya’akov

When it comes to intellect, Solomon sits among the elites. There is no question, the man was highly intelligent and I love reading Ecclesiastes which is his personal journal of sorts, or you might think of it as his teaching notes. I think that Solomon’s greatest love was the classroom. I think he loved to challenge his students as they pursued wisdom together. It is also possible that Job was in the same class with Solomon. Job was also known as a wise man. Job said, “How can any person be declared innocent in God’s sight?” Of course you and I know the answer–Jesus our mediator, advocate and savior. Job reasoned: “If you could take God to court, how could you reason with Him or oppose His judgments?” Job said the possibility of answering God correctly is one in a thousand. I think the odds are greater–much greater.

Let me ask you a question: How much do you know? You might say, “I know more than you,” and you could be right but how much do you really know? Do you know everything? Which is greater in your life: what you know or what you don’t know? What I know personally is finite; it has a limit but what I do not know is infinite. Humanly speaking my ignorance is boundless. Thus my knowledge is finite and my ignorance is infinite. I discovered this truth by reading Jonathan Cohn’s BOOK OF MYSTERIES. I found this revelation quite refreshing. At age 17, I knew everything but that was before I graduated college and seminary. It was before I got married and had children. It was before I had teenagers. It was before I had served in the ministry for 50 years. Our education and maturity comes in increments and for me, these increments are like baby steps. I began realizing in my twenties that I was not as smart as I thought and that I had been wise in my own eyes. In my thirties, I hit a new level that involved a deep appreciation for my parents and those who had helped me along the way. This appreciation increased dramatically in the forties. At age 50 my ignorance seemed overwhelming; how could one man be so dumb. My desire to read and learn increased exponentially, so much so that I was amazed my self. Reading became a delight and TV became boring.

To quote Troy, “Long story short,” the older I get, the more aware I am of my infinite ignorance. Now I pray that I will not waste time not learning. It is a shame that my desire to learn is greater than ever and my ability to remember is worse. I was very encouraged to learn that the same is true with Jonathan Cohn. So, I am not the only one who is overwhelmed by my ignorance. It always makes us feel better to know that we are not the only one.

Extra

We got a little rain last night; enough to keep the grass growing like crazy. We sure can’t complain about July on heat or rain. I hope you have a great weekend and remember to pray for REVIVE NOW Youth Rally on August 8th at the Brewer High Gym. We also meet at the schools tomorrow night to pray for teachers and students. Have a great day!

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