I don’t profess to know everything – even though I might act like I do! My problem, however, is that I approach most sermons, Bible studies, and inspirational reading with this thought in the back forefront of my mind: Tell me something I don’t know. Sad to say, they mostly don’t. I am glad to say that one exception to this experience is when I listen to my current pastor, Joshua. Most Sundays, he does tell me something I don’t know or had never thought about. I thank him for it often but probably not enough.

You see, I grew up in church, gave my life to Christ when I was 15, have saturated myself with scripture for over 50 years, and in that time read a lot of books – and I do mean a lot! I even have a seminary degree! But please don’t be impressed. Just because I know things doesn’t mean I know anything.

So, what am I saying? So many things. But I’ll start with this. John writes, “And by this we know that we have come to know him.”¹ See? I’m right to be concerned about things we know! The most important thing in our lives is to know Christ and to know that we know him! How, then, do we know that we know him? “If we keep his commandments.”¹ Note, however, that the order is not if we keep his commandments, we will know him, but if we know him, we will keep his commandments. That’s an important distinction to make. That’s how we know if we know him instead of merely knowing how to do the right thing – which many people do who don’t know him!

But there’s more to knowing Christ than to know that we know him and know how to do the right thing – and this is where my thoughts (Tell me something I don’t know, please!) gowhen I listen to/read someone’s “inspirational” message. I am so sure that there is so much I don’t know! Surely, others can help me with that! The writer of Hebrews tells us, “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.”²  In other words, let’s move on from simply having faith in God and keeping his commandments. That’s only the beginning of our journey. So, when I read/listen to others, my hope is that they have moved on, too. Please, tell me something I don’t know!

So, what else is there to know? So much more! For example, Peter tells us that we need to add these things to our faith: virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. (2 Peter 1:4-7) One of my quests is to work on those things. But there is so much more! For example, Paul writes in Philippians I want to “know him and the power of his resurrection.”³ What is so important about that? Because Paul also says that power “is the same power that raised Christ from the dead.”⁴  We have that kind of power! Also, did you know (I hope I am telling you something you already know) that Paul says “we have the mind of Christ”?⁵  I want to know more about that!

Here’s my final point (for now). There is so much more to know about being a child of God and a disciple of Jesus than the elementary level of having faith and doing the right thing. My recommendation is that every day we pray this: God, tell me something I don’t know! Because he will! Here’s God promise: “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”⁶

There is so much that we do not know. So, as the prophet Hosea wrote, Let’s “press on to know the Lord.”⁷

¹1 John 1:3   ²Hebrews 6:1   ³Philippians 3:10   ⁴Ephesians 1:19   ⁵1 Corinthians 2:16   ⁶Jeremiah 33:3   ⁷Hosea 6:3