ignorance – Moment to Moment (Bible blog)

I see that you are extremely religious in every respect…you worship in ignorance…(Acts 17:22-23)

I was thinking about those words today. The Atheniens were very religious, but worshiped in ignorance. Their concept of God was so far from the truth, that Paul felt compelled to correct them.

The Samaritans had a similar problem. Jesus said of them,

You Samaritans worship what you do not know. (John 4:22)

Of course there are many people today who have a wrong view of God. But is there a sense in which we Christians also worship in ignorance?

Put another way, “What gaps still exist in our understanding of God? And how much have our experiences colored our perception of God?”

Many of us know in our heads, for example, that God is our Father.

But how much is that image distorted in our minds because of our own relationships with our earthly fathers?

Or we say that God is a good king. But how much do we struggle with that concept because we’ve seen leaders inside and outside the church abuse their power?

I think I have a pretty healthy image of God. But I have to wonder, are there still some gaps in there?

Gaps that sometimes make me hesitate to obey him?

Gaps that sometimes make me hesitant to trust him?

Gaps that make me seek the praise of others because I fail to see how God sees me?

I see all these issues in my life. Could it be because there is still a sense in which I’m worshiping in ignorance?

So this is my prayer today:

Father, help me to truly know you more. Fill in those gaps, so that I can see you as you truly are.

The need for understanding

And so we continue on with Psalm 119, the longest psalm in the book.

The thing I see in this passage, is the humble heart of the psalmist. A heart that says, “I don’t know everything. Give me understanding.”

He says in verses 18-19,

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me. (Psalm 119:18-19)

In other words, “I’m a stranger around here. I’m a stranger to your laws and ways. To what you want of me. But I know you want what’s good for me. So open my eyes. Give me understanding as to what you want of me.”

He goes on to say,

Teach me your decrees. Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders. (26-27)

Again, you see the humble, teachable heart of the psalmist.

He goes on to talk about how he was laid low, weary with sorrow, most likely because of his sin. And so he says, “Strengthen me through your word. I now choose to follow you. In fact, I run to follow your path.” (25-32)

Why?

“For you have set my heart free.” (32b)

Note that the last sentence refers to the past. You have already set me free. You have already forgiven me. So having been forgiven and set free, I gladly run into your path that gives life.”

Then in the next few verses, he cries out, “Teach me to follow your decrees.” (33)

And again, “Give me understanding.” (34)

And yet again, “Direct me in the path of your commands.” (35)

In short, “I don’t know. I don’t understand. Please teach me. Grant me understanding.”

So often in life, we convince ourselves that we do know. That we have all the knowledge and wisdom we need for life.

But that kind of thinking ultimately leads to destruction and shame. We must always have a heart that is humble, and open to the teaching of God.

Not only that, we need a heart that admits, “I can’t live this way in my own strength.” We talked about this in the last blog.

This is why the psalmist prays for God’s help, saying,

Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things. (36-37)

And as he ends this section he says,

Preserve my life in my righteousness.

Whoa! Did you catch that? He didn’t say, “Preserve my life in my righteousness.”

He said,

Preserve my life in your righteousness. (40)

God doesn’t save us through our righteousness, but through his righteousness that he imparts to us when we put our faith in him.

The psalmist knew he could never be preserved through his own righteousness. But only because of God’s.

And it’s the same with us. So let us cast aside pride in our lives. Pride in our own righteousness. Pride in our own understanding.

Rather, let us come before God humbly, saying, “Teach me. Give me understanding.”

And when we do, God promises to do so.