Learning Never Ends
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An interesting story was told of certain blind men who went to 'see' an
elephant. None of them had an idea of what an elephant is before that
time. On arrival at the place, the men proceeded to touch and feel the
creature. As they touched, each drew conclusion as to what an elephant
looks like based on what he felt. For example, the one who touched
the leg quickly compared the elephant to a tree. Another, who touched
the trunk, said the elephant must look like a snake. Yet another, who
touched the tail, said the creature was like a rope. That way, each of
the men touched a single part of the elephant and returned home, able to
give a good description of the part they touched but having an
incorrect perception of what an elephant is in entirety.
We believers are in many ways like these blind men. We can only see the side of God that we are opportuned to find. Over the centuries, God had been revealed to many in diverse manners. Perhaps, like Moses, you have seen His back parts (Exo.33:23). Or like the children of Israel, heard Him speak in thunderstorms. You might have even had a very transforming encounter. Yet, like the blind men in the story, whatever we have learnt of God is just a little part of Him.
Never should we be satisfied with whatever measure of the knowledge of God we have acquired. The blind men in the story would not have had a wrong perception if they had explored further by touching other parts of the elephant. Although, each of the blind men were correct about the parts they touched, they could not get a full picture of the elephant. Likewise, while we may be right about the parts of God we have discovered, there remains yet many parts we haven't discovered.
The scriptures reveal that God is vast, awesome in His ways and far beyond full discovery (Rom.11:33, Job 36:26, 37:23, Ps.145:3). A sense of this our partial knowledge should drive us to explore. Apostle Paul clearly expressed this yearning: "That I may know him..."(Phil.3:10). No matter where we are in Christ, no matter what level we have attained, we must never consider ourselves to have reached the climax (Phil.3:13). 1 Corinthians 8:2 (NIV) puts it this way: "Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know." Indeed, there is so much more to know about God, so much more to learn.
We believers are in many ways like these blind men. We can only see the side of God that we are opportuned to find. Over the centuries, God had been revealed to many in diverse manners. Perhaps, like Moses, you have seen His back parts (Exo.33:23). Or like the children of Israel, heard Him speak in thunderstorms. You might have even had a very transforming encounter. Yet, like the blind men in the story, whatever we have learnt of God is just a little part of Him.
Never should we be satisfied with whatever measure of the knowledge of God we have acquired. The blind men in the story would not have had a wrong perception if they had explored further by touching other parts of the elephant. Although, each of the blind men were correct about the parts they touched, they could not get a full picture of the elephant. Likewise, while we may be right about the parts of God we have discovered, there remains yet many parts we haven't discovered.
The scriptures reveal that God is vast, awesome in His ways and far beyond full discovery (Rom.11:33, Job 36:26, 37:23, Ps.145:3). A sense of this our partial knowledge should drive us to explore. Apostle Paul clearly expressed this yearning: "That I may know him..."(Phil.3:10). No matter where we are in Christ, no matter what level we have attained, we must never consider ourselves to have reached the climax (Phil.3:13). 1 Corinthians 8:2 (NIV) puts it this way: "Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know." Indeed, there is so much more to know about God, so much more to learn.
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