I recently returned from a weeklong mission trip, vacation, training, and spiritual renewal all rolled in to one. I had a large part in the spiritual renewal portion of the trip. Many months ago, a team of us got together and decided on a theme for the week. I spent weeks preparing a program that would be presented by others. Each evening on the trip would be focused around a story of Christ. Even though I wasn’t the one speaking each night, I knew the topics they were covering and studied the stories extensively.
A little less than a week before I left, I started preparing myself for the reality that there would not be a whole lot of new discovery for me on this trip. I knew the stories forward and backward – even the big points that the speakers were going to make.
As I settled in the first night, waiting to hear everything I already knew, I was shocked. I had learned something from the speaker that I didn’t know. How could this be? I knew all the songs beforehand. I knew the drama beforehand. I knew the stories beforehand. I knew the speaker’s big points beforehand. I knew the small group questions beforehand! And yet, in all that I knew, I found there was plenty that I didn’t.
Some might think that I was just being egotistical, that I was approaching it like I knew everything. In my mind, I didn’t feel that way; I just felt like I had studied and learned and plumbed the depths of the topics. I was once again reminded of just how big God and His word are.
In our society, our views on many things have changed or grown deeper over time—the world is no longer flat, the sun is at the center of the solar system, fresh air is good, etc. Many people were perfectly content to just go on believing what they had always believed, but others chose to push forward, to search for deeper understanding.
Sadly, I was content to sit back and to continue to believe the earth was flat, so to speak, and I almost missed out on the blessing of knowing God better.
As I challenge myself to grow deeper, I invite you to join me in continually seeking to understand an infinite God and to approach the things we “know” with an opportunity to still learn a little more.
Greg Creek
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