How do I know anything about anything anyway?
Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen! Revelation 7:12
I am not quite sure what to make of this half-baked idea, but here it goes anyway.
On Sunday (was it Sunday night or Sunday day?) I sang a song with the the church I gathered with that largely followed the above passage from Revelation. I am getting my head around the "glory" part of the whole thing, but what struck me is that this proclamation of who God is and what we need to ascribe to Him includes wisdom. This is something that I have been thinking about lately as I look at how I know stuff. I tend to think that I can use my reason to come to a more complete knowledge of the world. If something seems reasonable to me then it seems like I can hang my hat on that thing. For example, if I can see a connection between praying and good things happening (even if that good thing is becoming more like Christ by imitating him) then I go ahead and do it. Off and on, but it gets done. If it seems reasonable to me that reading through the Bible would make me a better man and allow me to be a more effective teacher then, by golly, give me a Bible and watch me go.
But there is something else that should be operating in my life. All wisdom belongs to God or, put another way, is "to be" to my God. My reason does not enter into the decision-making process without that foundation operating in my life. As soon as I set up even the inkling that my reason has anything to do with driving me in one direction or another or is a basis of understanding this or that about the world well, then that wisdom belongs to me...it is "to be" with me. My reason becomes the referee and if it is not "reasonable" then away it goes. Reason has a role to play but it is not a foundation for knowing anything about the world. My reason operates within the house that Wisdom has built on the foundation that He has laid with materials that find their sole source in Him. That is the wisdom that is stuff my world view must be molded by.
If He is to be both my Lord (leader) and Savior (forgiver) then my wisdom needs to find its beginning and end in Him. He is the one who has told me this and that about the world. Even if it does not seem reasonable to me. Who am I anyway?
I am not quite sure what to make of this half-baked idea, but here it goes anyway.
On Sunday (was it Sunday night or Sunday day?) I sang a song with the the church I gathered with that largely followed the above passage from Revelation. I am getting my head around the "glory" part of the whole thing, but what struck me is that this proclamation of who God is and what we need to ascribe to Him includes wisdom. This is something that I have been thinking about lately as I look at how I know stuff. I tend to think that I can use my reason to come to a more complete knowledge of the world. If something seems reasonable to me then it seems like I can hang my hat on that thing. For example, if I can see a connection between praying and good things happening (even if that good thing is becoming more like Christ by imitating him) then I go ahead and do it. Off and on, but it gets done. If it seems reasonable to me that reading through the Bible would make me a better man and allow me to be a more effective teacher then, by golly, give me a Bible and watch me go.
But there is something else that should be operating in my life. All wisdom belongs to God or, put another way, is "to be" to my God. My reason does not enter into the decision-making process without that foundation operating in my life. As soon as I set up even the inkling that my reason has anything to do with driving me in one direction or another or is a basis of understanding this or that about the world well, then that wisdom belongs to me...it is "to be" with me. My reason becomes the referee and if it is not "reasonable" then away it goes. Reason has a role to play but it is not a foundation for knowing anything about the world. My reason operates within the house that Wisdom has built on the foundation that He has laid with materials that find their sole source in Him. That is the wisdom that is stuff my world view must be molded by.
If He is to be both my Lord (leader) and Savior (forgiver) then my wisdom needs to find its beginning and end in Him. He is the one who has told me this and that about the world. Even if it does not seem reasonable to me. Who am I anyway?
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