Not to Know

He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority."

 - From Acts 1

I've spent a lot of time developing the idea of knowledge for the believer, and knowledge for humanity. We all want to know what we're talking about. We all want to be knowledgeable. And perhaps even more important than being knowledgeable, we want to appear knowledgeable.

There's the little ice-breaker question we occasionally hear:

Of the three, which would you rather have: Power, Fame, or Wealth?

I've always contended: Give me enough of one of them, and I'd have all three. But then I think a fourth choice could be added: Knowledge.

That's a good one. Knowledge seems slightly unrelated to the other three. And yet, with enough knowledge, I could gain Power, Fame, or Wealth. In fact, ample knowledge takes all the guesswork out. You would know what steps you would have to take, to become powerful. You'd easily get yourself in front of thousands of adoring crowds. You could amass enough money to challenge Bill Gates, in a fortnight.

Enough Knowledge could give you super powers to rival Superman, and beyond. That is what made Lex Luthor such a formidable opponent!

Jesus' secret weapon was knowledge. I believe that everything He did, and accomplished, was due to His overwhelming understanding of everything. He disappeared for twenty years, while He was being trained in everything about Time, Space, and the Universe (or so I believe).

Adam had access to all of the knowledge that Jesus wielded. But Adam was immature, lacking wisdom. He was selfish . . . and knowledge in the hands of a selfish human is a powder keg - and the key to every infamous villain in history.

But there are some things we can't know. Our eyes are shielded from seeing some things. Facts and Science that we cannot handle, are kept from us. If our faith is strong, we will be okay with that. We will not crave that which would harm us.

Life is an adventure. I would not want to know the specifics of the dates and facts of the Second Coming of Christ. It's more interesting to be kept in the dark. We can have great conversations about the End Times, because none of us have all the answers. The journey is more important than the destination.

Some people lose their faith, because they become impatient for more information. As the Apostles stood by, watching The Lord ascend up into the sky, two men appeared, and told them, basically, that they have to move on. They'll get all the answers, eventually. But for now, just live in this moment. Focus on the here and now. T

This is the essence of the Christian lifestyle. It's more than enough.