We all seek knowledge, don’t we? Chances are, all of us are seeking to learn and grow and develop in some area of life, maybe in many areas of life. I am told that there is an Arabic proverb which says,
He that knows not and knows not that he knows not is a fool: shun him. He that knows not and knows that he knows not is a child: teach him. He that knows and knows not that he knows is asleep: wake him. He that knows and knows that he knows is a wise man: follow him.
I am intrigued that in many of the prayers of the apostle Paul for the early Church, he prayed that the Believers would “be filled with the knowledge of [God’s] will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding (vs. 9). Most likely, this is a lifetime journey of learning the will of God, and seeking to live faithfully to it.
Being a Christian isn’t a short sprint; it’s a lifelong journey. It is a wonderful walk of learning what it means to be a child of God, to live in Jesus the Messiah, and to be filled with the glories of the Holy Spirit. Paul wanted the Church to be filled with the knowledge of God so that the people would know how to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (vs. 10). Paul’s reasoning behind all this was based on the fact that God “rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (vss. 13-14).
We Believers are a redeemed people, finding our lives in the grace and mercy and love and truth of God. One thing we can count on here is the faithfulness of God. In I John 1:5, the apostle writes of our God and says, “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” There is a lot of darkness around us, and sometimes the darkness is so overwhelming that one has to be very focused and mindful in order not to get lost in the darkness. In times like these, and I’ve had a few for sure, the one thing that has held me steady is the fact that “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.”
I remember when the doctor announced to me that I had cancer that needed immediate attention, and surgery. With this staggering announcement, I found myself anchored with King David in Psalm 32:14-15, when after listing awful things that were going on around him, prayed, “But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD, I say, ‘You are my God.” My times are in Your hand.” I remember the sense of a deep settled peace that came upon me with the doctors evaluation. This is huge, because you need to know that I am no super saint. I am a very real man, with very real weaknesses and shortcomings. The peace was a gift from the God in whom there is no darkness. That’s my story. What’s yours?
As you and I journey toward Good Friday and Easter Sunday, may we seek to know God, as much as it is possible to know God in this world.
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