Ignorance
Scripture Reading — Isaiah 40:27-31
The LORD is the everlasting God ... His understanding no one can fathom. Isaiah 40:28
The people are lamenting, "My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God." Even when life appears cheerful, there is this undercurrent of sadness among the people. It's life in exile. The people feel aban?doned by God.
But Isaiah wants the people to reconsider what they already know, to hear what they've heard before. "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God." No one can fathom the ways of God.
As a teaspoon cannot take the measure of the oceans, so the human mind cannot fathom the mind of God. There's a vast gap between the Creator and the creature. Life itself is full of mystery--a newborn baby, love, gravity. Who can fully explain these things? According to A Short History of Nearly Everything, "There are perhaps 140 billion galaxies in the still unfolding universe. If all the stars in the universe were only the size of the head of a pin, they still would fill Miami's Orange Bowl to overflowing more than three billion times."
Over the centuries, Christians have spoken of a "holy ignorance," an ignorance that is deeply humbling. It revels in the knowledge that the unfathomable Lord has everything, including you and me, in his hands.
We need not fathom God's ways in order to trust him. It's enough to know his heart.
Lord Jesus, you have unveiled to us the heart of God. In your strength we will hope in the Lord always, knowing that God loves us even more than we can fathom. Amen.
About the author — Jack Roeda
Rev. Jack Roeda is the senior pastor at Church of the Servant Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and an adjunct professor of preaching at Calvin Theological Seminary. He is married to Carol Sue Kok, and they have three children and two grandchildren. Pastor Roeda has served two previous churches: Exeter (Ont.) Christian Reformed Church and Calvary Christian Reformed Church, Holland, Michigan.
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