Do We Need to Have All the Answers?
I’ve been studying Christian doctrine and Biblical inerrancy, and I’ve yet to decide exactly where I stand on the issues. Am I a Calvinist? In some ways, yes. Do I think there is Middle Knowledge which is a concept of free will? It seems plausible. Does the Bible present the actual words of God? Yes. Are there issues with the text that are problematic? Yes. Do we need to know everything? No… and herein lies my argument.
Why is it that man is compelled to find all the answers to life? Theologians have libraries filled with books on aspects of God and spirituality that would daunt the average Christian. Scientists are driven to figure out every fine distinction of the material world. Women are constantly trying to figure out their man. Men seem baffled by the capriciousness of women. Children are bent on trying to discover what lies wrapped under their Christmas tree.
I find myself, very often these days, just wanting to sit and gaze at the presents unwrapped, enjoying the colors of the wrapping paper, tied in beautiful bows, sparkling under the tree with baubles and lights twinkling reflections in the window panes. I know soon enough that the wrapping paper will be torn away, boxes open and the surprise inside revealed. This has come from years of recognizing that moments are brief, and then quickly gone.
In Matthew, Jesus tells His disciple “to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself,” (Matt. 6:33-34).
We can have all the great theories of how God’s omniscience works, if the Bible is inerrant or not, and what is wrong with evangelicalism, but if we forget our first love, then what is the point? I do recognize the need to be faithful to the right teachings of God, to prevent people from being led astray with incorrect assumptions about God and His character. But I also know that God allows weeds to grow among the tares (Matt. 13:30), and it will be His guiding hand that pulls the weeds out in the end. It’s not up to us. We’re simply to love God and love others. If we have not love, then all these other things will not count (I Cor. 13:2). We are to be ambassadors for Christ in the ministry of reconciliation first and foremost.
