For those who think preachers know everything, be assured that we don’t. I am now willing to admit my ignorance. But I’m sorry to say that I didn’t always feel this way.

    Now, understand this, God doesn’t put a premium on ignorance. Get an education. Learn the Bible plus some church history. But being smart is not always an advantage except in some vocations. Being wise is preferable to being brainy.     When it comes to explaining the mystery of the universe, smart people who ignore the evidence of a Creator are actually sophomores (sophisticated morons), Latin for “educated fools.”

    The older I become the more I realize there’s a lot I don’t know. Perhaps it’s true that wisdom and humility are related, also helped by aging. Our sacred text says this: “Knowledge puffs up but love builds up.” Knowing a lot doesn’t mean you’re good.  

    I was preparing to address a small gathering of believers who wanted to learn more about hearing from God and speaking for God. These two phrases describe the operation of the grace-gift whereby Christians may flow in the Holy Spirit to prophesy. This is the primary gift that believers should seek after (1 Cor. 14:1). As I was alone, quietly waiting on God, I distinctly heard this whisper coming from my Lord …

    “You don’t know what you don’t know.” After a moment he continued, “And you will never know it unless I show it to you.”

    I was stunned. That word has stuck with me for years. What a profound truth to realize this is so true in our life. We are dependent on God to open up our minds, to give us insight and understanding. God knows what is true and right in all situations.

    I really wish that I had asked more questions of the people around me through the years. I wish I had listened more and talked less. I didn’t know how ignorant I was. It takes a revelation to see ourselves as independent, stubborn, presumptuous, arrogant, or pushy.

    Even though God gave me a brilliant mind by birth and by his grace gave me an ability to speak in public, my relationship with others could have been so much richer.

    How? I could have been asking, “Why do you believe that?” Or, “Why is that so important to you?” More and more I can see that each one of us has only a small portion of the insight that ought to benefit us all … if it is shared and received.

    Sometimes we mistakenly substitute tradition for sound doctrine. We hold on to our way of thinking and assume that our ways are best: we alone have grasped God’s plan; we are the chosen ones with unique information. This attitude is strong in churches and in political parties. Perhaps they do have some good ideas? Have we honestly looked?

    A woman was in the kitchen showing her daughter how to cook a ham. She trimmed off each end, placed the rest of the ham in the baking pan, and placed it into the hot oven. “Why did you cut off the ends of the ham?” her daughter wanted to know.

    “Well, now that you ask, I never thought about it, but my mother always did it that way. What say we call your grandmother right now and let’s ask her?” They got the elderly woman on the phone and asked her why she had always cut the ham like that.

    “The answer is simple,” she replied. “My cooking pan was too small.”

    Some peoples’ minds are like cement: thoroughly mixed up and firmly set! When we know all there is to know, the arrogance of our heart deceives us. But the kingdom of God is compatible with child-like listeners. If we inquire and listen in order to truly understand, we may realize that we hadn’t had a clue about what we’d never known.

    Because the Son of God is heaven’s final answer for mankind’s search; because the way, the truth, and the life are found only in a Person — Jesus (not just information about him in the Bible); therefore we humans will spend our remaining existence discovering more of the vast inexhaustible riches of the knowledge of the glory and grace of God.

    Ron Wood is a writer and preacher. He and his wife live in Arkansas where they enjoy their grandchildren and a retired Jack Russell Terrier. wood.stone.ron@gmail.com.