I am in the midst of trying to plan the start of kindergarten for our little girl. Today was going to be one of those days that I spread out our the new books, started the computer, and put together an outline for at least the first week or two weeks of school. I want to write a daily plan for school in addition to the chores I need to accomplish each day, so that my whole day is printed before me in black and white in my nifty planner. I know that these well-crafted plans are very likely to be interrupted, but I need and want to feel prepared. I want to have a direction, a list of tasks that I can scribble off the list. Over the summer I have read quite a few blog posts and articles regarding the first days of school. Everything from tips to schooling when a new baby arrives (yikes!! I am still a bit terrified of that wrinkle this year), to how to maintain the house around a school schedule, to which curricula are better for certain types of learners. I am feeling stocked on wise advice from those who have done this before me. So I have put pencil to planner today and I am ready!
When the children lie down for nap time (or quiet time depending on if you are a girl about to enter kindergarten who is getting much too old for rest in the middle of the day), I take a quick look at facebook before I open my Bible. The first status I see is Joni Eareckson Tada: "Knowing facts
about God is not the same as understanding who He
is." My heart feels a little pricked, because I definitely fall into the "I-know-a-lot-of-facts" category sometimes. It stings a little bit when someone reminds me that a relationship is not about concrete items but drawing close. Probably because I usually need that reminder to keep me from forgetting what a daily walk with God actually is.
On to Bible reading. Matthew 17-18 is on tap for today. So I open the word and read about the transfiguration, Christ's glory, and the terror the disciples felt at the voice of God. What an amazing exhibit of the glory of Christ. Peter didn't want to leave. But they had to, and as the foursome walked down the mountain, they asked Jesus about the traditional teaching of the scribes. Elijah must come before the messiah. Jesus explains that the Elijah the leaders referenced had already come and the religious people missed him They didn't recognize the major sign they were supposed to see before the ONE came. (Matt 17:12) Matthew explains that Jesus was referencing John the Baptist as the Elijah who would precede the Savior. (After doing a little cross-referencing, I found Jesus himself say this truth in Matthew 11:14) So, the people who were most steeped in the traditions and ancient scriptures had completely missed the coming of the man who pointed to the messiah. Because of their oblivion, they were poised to miss the coming of the very One who had been foretold since the beginning of time. They were about to live through His coming and His dying and His rising again without even pausing to realize everything they had been learning about was happening. Right now. But they had their traditions and their scriptures and their books and so they missed an encounter with the very Son of God. Amazing.
I don't want to settle for facts instead of a relationship. I don't want to miss what God is doing RIGHT NOW. I must be able to "taste and see" (Psalm 34:8) that God is goodness and truth personified or I am no better than a religious Watson. (the mega-computer who beat Ken Jennings on Jeopardy). "Knowing facts about God is not the same as understanding who He is." I will know who HE is as I press closer to Him each day, and as I live these daily experiences that He metes to me. Month after month, my understanding of His character grows and transcends mere church knowledge. I develop understanding that has begun in facts, (Sunday school teachings) and has been fanned into understanding fueled by experience and the daily walk.
When I come back to my school books, my penciled in plans-complete with meal plans and chores and worksheets to be tackled each day-seem a little less reassuring. It is one thing to have advice and plans and facts about the coming school year, but I it will be another to experience the routine accomplishments and failures. So I offer this year of unpredictability to the One who knows everything, and I trust that He will use each day to increase my understanding of who He is. That He would use even my botched daily plans to reveal to me His fulfilled promises and unforeseen measures of grace. Don't let me miss this understanding, Lord. Don't let me focus on my facts and my plans to the exclusion of learning who You are.
No comments:
Post a Comment