The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions. [Deuteronomy 29.29]
Of course God has secrets known to no one! What kind of God would He be if we had Him all figured out? If we had God all figured out, He would be no better than we are! But that is simply not the case!
I was telling my grandson just yesterday how the Bible is constantly revealing something to me that I had never seen before. I was also telling him that I looked forward to that pattern continuing until the day I die!
Another thing I discussed with my ten-year-old grandson was that knowledge is something we must constantly remain diligent to handle correctly. I explained to him that knowledge about God without dynamic relationship with God is dangerous because of pride (the number one thing God hates).
Now, before anyone accuses me of confusing a ten-year-old with such talk, let me just reveal that our discussion was not just about the simple Bible stories children tend to know about - no, we were discussing the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther, and men whose names he mentioned that I knew nothing about!
So, my conversation with my grandson about knowledge was entirely appropriate! However, one should not conclude that I discouraged such knowledge in the boy, but to the contrary, I encouraged him to continue to grow in his knowledge but I also carefully pointed out to him the uselessness of such knowledge without a relationship with God. It was a conversation that makes a grandfather's heart sing!
Of course God has secrets known to no one! What kind of God would He be if we had Him all figured out? If we had God all figured out, He would be no better than we are! But that is simply not the case!
I was telling my grandson just yesterday how the Bible is constantly revealing something to me that I had never seen before. I was also telling him that I looked forward to that pattern continuing until the day I die!
Another thing I discussed with my ten-year-old grandson was that knowledge is something we must constantly remain diligent to handle correctly. I explained to him that knowledge about God without dynamic relationship with God is dangerous because of pride (the number one thing God hates).
Now, before anyone accuses me of confusing a ten-year-old with such talk, let me just reveal that our discussion was not just about the simple Bible stories children tend to know about - no, we were discussing the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther, and men whose names he mentioned that I knew nothing about!
So, my conversation with my grandson about knowledge was entirely appropriate! However, one should not conclude that I discouraged such knowledge in the boy, but to the contrary, I encouraged him to continue to grow in his knowledge but I also carefully pointed out to him the uselessness of such knowledge without a relationship with God. It was a conversation that makes a grandfather's heart sing!
But, back to my point, there is no premium on ignorance. Just because God has secrets no one will ever know does release us from the responsibility to learn all we can. We simply must remain mindful that with all that we learn, there will ALWAYS be more that we do not know. Should we expect anything less when it comes to God?
And, to keep us from "blowing a fuse" trying to cram all the knowledge we can into our heads, we have this verse in the Bible that assures us that we are not accountable for that which we do not know (or that has not been made known). The previous statement in parentheses should keep us on our toes!
Father, You are so good. Thank You for the knowledge You have provided.
And, to keep us from "blowing a fuse" trying to cram all the knowledge we can into our heads, we have this verse in the Bible that assures us that we are not accountable for that which we do not know (or that has not been made known). The previous statement in parentheses should keep us on our toes!
Father, You are so good. Thank You for the knowledge You have provided.
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