WHAT DO YOU KNOW?

I Cor. 8:2-3 Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn't really know very much. But the person who loves God is the one God knows and cares for.

It is so easy to develop the mindset that we know all that we need to know or that what we do know is always the right answer to every issue. Let's be honest. We think we know it all. The longer we live in faith, the more self-assured we become. We like our doctrine and strongly believe that we have the right understanding of Scripture. We grow up and are trained to see things a certain way and close our thinking to any other way of thinking. We don't want to think too much about things and so we make up our minds on matters and that is that. We are right and the rest of the church is wrong. We criticize and judge those who think and live differently than we do. We refuse to have fellowship with those who might be different enough that they become a threat to our thinking. We refuse to embrace the wholeness of the body of Christ in all of its diversity, because they are not "one of us."

We need to hear what today's text is saying to us. We don't know it all. No one has perfect knowledge and understanding. No one can claim to have all the pieces of the puzzle of truth nailed down. No amount of education is going to provide answers to issues that the Lord does not clearly reveal. There are truths that are hidden in the mind of God. We can see things differently and still be united at the foot of the cross. There are things that will only be known in heaven. We filter our understanding through our experiences and upbringings of life. It is okay to not agree on our understanding of things, but it is not okay to disagree disagreeably. As long as Jesus is received as our Savior and Lord, we are family and should be embraced as such.

We need to love each other, support each other, encourage each other, and rejoice with each other as we serve the Lord.