Thouhgts on 2nd Thoughts

I had a brief conversation with a young man today.  We've had conversations several times over the past few years. He says he is "searching" but I get the distinct feeling that he pretty much has his mind made up about things... like he knows it all.  He reminds me of myself when I was his age.

Paul writes to the Corinthian sisters and brothers, “You think that everyone should agree with your perfect knowledge. While knowledge may make us feel important, it is love that really builds up the church. 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 about.”

I call this blog 2nd Thoughts. Here is some history about that. Many years ago I came to the conclusion that I knew it all. Of course at the time if you asked me if I thought I knew it all I would have certainly responded, “Of course not!” But, in reality I was living as if I did know it all which made it IMPOSSIBLE for me to hear anyone who questioned what it was I knew I knew… NOT EVEN GOD! So, the Lord waited and in time my arrogance became known to me (there is a bit of irony for you), and suddenly I knew how little I knew and I began to have 2nd thoughts about a lot of things.

We have a proverb, “Knowledge is power.” We are Oh so susceptible to the trap of thinking we know what we need to know and that we know it fully. This is true in so many areas of our lives. However, we also say something like, “The more you know, the more you know how little you know.” This second bit of wisdom is the better path.

But, Paul takes this whole discussion in a surprisingly different direction. In his words to the good folks of Corinth, I discover that it’s not so much about “knowledge” at all as it is about love. Paul plays a little game here in his concluding comment- “…the one who loves God is KNOWN by God!”

If we can take to heart these wise words tucked away in this letter written so long ago it will revolutionize our lives, our church, our world! BUT! loving is such a threatening thing. Come on now, we can’t just LOVE people! We have to make sure they KNOW the truth! But, it is those who love who truly know and are in turn known.

Lord of all knowledge and wisdom, teach me to be a lover! And give me the grace to be a learner and to forsake the false security of ‘knowing it all.’