Generally, most of us like to know what’s going on, what we’re doing and what will or may happen. We like to be educated and informed. Do we always like the hard work that gets us there? No, but the desire is still there.
Just look at our society today. It’s a constant cycle of breaking news, live on the scene, second-by-second updates, and 24-hour news cycles. Rather than wait for the evening news, or in some cases, just a few minutes if the news is already on, to see the weather forecast, we pull it up on the weather app on our phone. Instead of waiting 5-7 business days for a package to arrive, we track its progress via the delivery service’s website, giving us the exact location at that moment. Or we might skip the wait altogether and go with same day shipping—even if it comes with a hefty charge.
We want information, and we want it now.
We also aren’t fond of looking like a fool, even if it’s regarding complex topics such as proper nutrition, treatments for a virus or mass immigration. It’s become almost inconceivable for us—especially us who live in first-world countries—to not have at least a bit of knowledge on a topic, or at the very least, an opinion on it.
That’s what we try to convince ourselves and others anyway. In the end, we’re uncomfortable with the amount we don’t know. It makes us squirm to think there are questions out there to which we don’t have the answer. Which is why the Christian faith is so troublesome for people, believers and nonbelievers alike.
For the Christian, we’re repeatedly told God is the One who is all-knowing, not man (Proverbs 2:6, Romans 11:33-36, Hebrews 4:13). And as Christ-followers, that is something we should readily accept. We might not like it all the time, but overall, we acknowledge only God knows everything, and we trust Him with that knowledge.
Questions are not a bad thing. God made us curious beings with the abilities to contemplate, investigate and reason. A beautiful thing! But it’s what we do (or don’t do) with those abilities that causes the tension, otherwise known as the temptation to sin. Because along with those abilities, we also have the ability to manipulate, fabricate and ignore.
We don’t know the answer? Let’s make one up. We don’t like the answer? Let’s tweak it until we do. As imperfect humans, we love the idea of being all-knowing, but only when the “facts” align with our predetermined opinions and best serve us.
We might not like it all the time, but overall, we acknowledge only God knows everything, and we trust Him with that knowledge.
This infatuation with “knowledge” presents another hitch when it comes to people truly believing in and accepting God for who He actually is. After all, the Bible says man is created in the image of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:26), therefore we’re all-knowing too, right?
If God created the universe a long time ago (Genesis 1) and gave Moses some laws also a long time ago (Exodus 20:2-17, Deut. 5:6-21), we can create our own world and establish our own rules today, right? I mean, we’re created in God’s image, so essentially, we are god.
No.
There aren’t enough options available in Google Docs to emphasize that point enough.
Yes, we are created in the image (or likeness) of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us so, and the Bible is the infallible Word of God (John 17:17, Hebrews 6:18). But we’re neglecting one key word in this verse from Genesis, in addition to several other verses in the Bible.
Look at yourself in the mirror. What do you see? Your image reflected back at you, correct? Is that image the real you? Another manifestation of you as a living human being? What about if someone paints or takes a picture of you. Is that you—the living, breathing, thinking you—in the picture?
Or how about your children, if you have them; if not, what about your parents? All children have at least a slight tendency toward their parents, and some appear quite similar to one while others almost an exact duplicate, only younger in appearance. Is your child you? Are you your parent?
See, an image is not the thing it’s imitating or reflecting. An actor or actress can put on make-up and clothes to look like someone, and they may succeed in looking eerily similar to that person; they may even distort their voice to sound like him/her. But does that mean they are one and the same, or more accurately, two of the same?
The same goes for us as God’s creations. God made us in His likeness and placed the desire for eternity within us (Ecclesiastes 3:11), but He didn’t make us God. God cannot be made, that’s exactly what makes Him God. The moment something (or someone) is made into something else, they are the created, not the Creator.
God cannot be made, that's exactly what makes Him God.
You were made by the miraculous process that is conception. Now, as a created being, does that mean you can’t create things and become a creator? By no means. After all, I created this column on a computer that was created by another created being. But just because we are a creator doesn’t mean we are The Creator.
So what does this have to do with our desire to have the answers to all of life’s questions? Our desire to explain how everything came to be and why certain things happen?
Everything.
You see, if we are created beings, we are creations, not the Creator. But who is the Creator?
God (Genesis 1:2, Colossians 1:16). And only God, who created the universe and all that is good in it, can know—and does know—everything (Acts 17:26, James 1:17). Just like God is the only One who can be everywhere at all times (Job 28:24, Proverbs 15:3, Jeremiah 23:24). Just like God is the only One who never changes (Isaiah 40:8, Hebrews 13:8). And just like Jesus is the only way to God the Father (John 14:6, Acts 4:11-12, 1 Timothy 2:5-6) and the only One who could take on the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2), pay the just penalty for those sins on our behalf and promise eternal life with Him in Heaven to those who believe in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 2:10).
We as humans cannot replicate God in anything—not what He does, knows or thinks, nor can we replicate His being. That’s the point!
If you have a god who you can replicate, as in make an exact duplicate of, is it a god? If you can be on the same level as a god intellectually and know everything it knows, is it a god? That’s not my God.
My God, the one and only God, is all-knowing, all-powerful and eternal (Isaiah 40:28). He is the Creator and Sustainer, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (Isaiah 46:9-10, Revelation 1:8). He’s the One who can name every star in the galaxy (Psalm 147:4-5), and He’s the One who knew me even before I was in my mother’s womb (Isaiah 44:2, Ephesian 1:4). He’s the One who willingly took on flesh, bore the pain of crucifixion and the torment of being separated from God the Father to pay the just penalty for my sins (Mark 10:45, John 1:29, Philippians 2:6-8). He’s the One who’s preparing a place for me—and everyone else—who believes in Him and has confessed Him as their Lord and Savior (John 3:16, 14:2-3).
Does that mean I have all the answers? No. Does that mean I understand why everything, both good and bad, happens? No, not completely anyway.
I know sin is the root of all evil and that’s why bad things happen (Galatians 5:19-21, 1 John 3:4). Sin is evil and therefore, separates us from a holy God (Romans 3:23, 1 John 3:6-10). I also know that God chooses to forget my sin because His Son, Jesus Christ, paid the price for me and I have accepted Him as my personal Lord and Savior (Isaiah 43:25, Hebrews 8:12).
If you can be on the same level as a god intellectually and know everything it knows, is it a god?
Because God can do that, I’m okay with not having all the answers. Why do I need to know everything? God knows it all (Psalm 139:1-4). He knows it all, and because of what His Son did on the Cross for me, I know I am His child (John 1:12, Galatians 3:26). And I trust my Father. He knows all the answers and He knows me; that’s all I need, and I pray the same goes for you.
References:
English Standard Version Bible. (2001). Crossway Bibles.
This post originally appeared on County News Online.