The Knowledge of God

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Do you ever wonder why we should ever bother to study about God? Surely, we can never fully understand the mysteries of God. The Bible tells us, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9). The Apostle Paul counseled the Roman church, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?" (Romans 11:33-34). Therefore, any study of God is bound to end in futility if our eventual goal is complete knowledge. At this point, many persons put aside seeking to grow in knowledge of God as impractical and irrelevant to their daily lives. Several years ago Microsoft founder and CEO Bill Gates remarked to TIME magazine that "Just in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient. There’s a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning." Maybe you have thought something similar to this at some point in your life. This is a tragic mistake.
God has created us to thirst for knowledge and has created knowledge as a way of transformation. There is no greater knowledge than to seek the One who has created you for a purpose and has given meaning to your existence. In his very next point after speaking of the “unsearchability” of God, the Apostle Paul wrote this interesting advice, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2). Although, we will never attain full knowledge of God in this life, it is in the seeking that we will be transformed and renewed into mature Christians with greater and greater wisdom. This is a life-long process of growth and God really is in the details. C.S. Lewis once observed that knowledge of God is analogous to the Sun – we may not be able to stare directly into the Sun but as it shines brighter in our lives we begin to see everything else more clearly by its light. We may never understand the fullness of God, but as He shines more brightly in our lives and minds we can understand everything else more clearly by His light. Selah.
In Christ,
Steve