How We Know We Know

Spirituality Column #128
April 21, 2009
Current in Carmel - Westfield (IN) newspaper

How We Know We Know
By Bob Walters

English poet Thomas Gray secularly wrote, “Ignorance is bliss.” Psalm 14:1 in the Bible faithfully advises, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”

There is no shortage of people around us who think not knowing Christ is a lot easier and, well, saner, than knowing Him. But even for believers there is a pesky question:

How do we know what we know?

If one is seeking comfort in the knowledge of Christ, the reality of the Cross – man’s brutality and God’s love – is a scary and mystical proposition that does not immediately invite comfort, or easy defense.

But even with the courage to face Christ, the energy to engage the Holy Spirit and the wisdom to accept God’s word as the ultimate moral truth, there is no way to measure our understanding of the Divine.

That’s OK. Christ isn’t about measurement. He’s about faith … and love.

Believers generally want to know everything they can about the blissfulness, peace and challenges of truly knowing God. That’s one of the easy self-tests of whether one is a believer or a seeker. How thirsty am I?

In possibly the same moment, one might wonder if the faith deep in our souls is the real deal, the real God. Is the Holy Spirit providing real light on our deepest spiritual questions?

These are intensely personal issues, even in light of the fact that as believers we are members of a community, the church, the Bride of Christ. We are saved one at a time because Christ loves us one at a time.

Newsweek magazine reports that Christian political influence is dwindling in our culture. Fine. Romans 13 is just one of several places in the Bible that plainly tells Christians not to seek political influence. Jesus did not come for the nations – “They are a drop in a bucket” (Isaiah 40:15) – He came for our individual souls.

Plainly Christ didn’t come for political glory. His glory was and still is in providing us with a sin-free, eternal and loving relationship with God; we are forgiven. Politics always seems to be looking for someone to blame.

The best way for us to glorify Christ is to love Him above all else, and to love each other, no matter what. If we can trust that, politics becomes a minor annoyance, our faith is secure, and we, lovingly, know what we know.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) notes that politics so often seems to be the perfect antidote for love and forgiveness.