Tuesday, January 06, 2015

Truth is Meant to be Loved, not Always Known

Humans love to know things and the internet has taken this to a whole new level. I believe one primary reason we want to know and be certain about things is that it gives us a sense of control over our lives. Bit by bit as I lose certainty about some of the information I've believed about God and the Bible (subjects I thought I knew a lot about a few years ago), I'm discovering joy and peace in not being so sure about a lot of things. I'm discovering that to "know" in God doesn't mean being certain about information related to Him; in fact, I'm growing more in love now that I'm not as sure about it all. "Knowing" in God includes honest doubting and questioning and not knowing. Truth is meant to be loved, not always known. George MacDonald understood this and said the following:

"To know God is to be in the secret place of all knowledge; and to trust him changes the whole outlook surrounding mystery and seeming contradictions and unanswered questions from one of doubt or fear or bewilderment to one of hope. The unknown may be some lovely truth in store for us, which we are not yet ready to apprehend. Not to be intellectually certain of a truth does not prevent the heart that loves and obeys that truth from getting the goodness out of it, from drawing life from it because it is loved, not because it is understood."  (from MacDonald's book, "The Lady's Confession")

"Doubts are the messengers of the Living One to rouse the honest heart. They are the first knock at our door of things that are not yet, but have to be, understood...Doubts must precede every deeper assurance. For uncertainties are what we first see when we look into a region hitherto unknown, unexplored, unannexed."   (from "Discovering the Character of God")

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