Illumine the Shoreline

April 14

The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shore line of wonder. Ralph W. Sockman

I wonder how much we really know. Oh, yes, we study and we glean information and we are quite capable at imparting the product of our discovery to others—so the cycle of learning and teaching and learning goes on—but what do we really know?

If we are honest with ourselves we will confess, at least within the silence of our own hearts that we understand very little. The smattering of the world's accumulated facts, figures and statistics that we store in our brain is inconsequential at best—even for those of us who are considered to be 'experts' in our field of endeavor.

What do we really know? Without attempting to denigrate the essential process of accumulating insight and information, we must conclude that with all our gaining of factual data, we are little more than dunderheads! Some would dispute that, but should an expert biologist enter into a reasoned discourse with an historian, how eloquently could he comport himself? Not very.

And so it is with all of us. We acquire great volumes of information that allow us to perform certain tasks with specificity, but we hardly embody a great reservoir of wisdom. Each of us must stand in wonder of all we do not know. And the more we know, "the larger our island of knowledge," as Sockman so colorfully states it, "the longer the shoreline of our wonder."

As believers in Christ, this leaves us with the profound awareness that Jesus was right when He said, "Without Me, you can do nothing," John 15:5. We realize that we are utterly helpless to be productive or successful or even decent people, if HE does not, in His mercy and grace, give us the mechanism for our productivity and for our success and for our decency.

Do we then lament our limitations and hide ourselves away in despair of our inadequacy? No! We rejoice that we, finite in knowledge that we may be of ourselves, have a resource that is far, far beyond what our own frail intellect can afford to us! We have the mind of Christ, (I Corinthians 2:16). Because we allow Him to rule and reign in our lives, He causes our lives to become a reflection of His life! He allows our minds to become the storehouse for His unsearchable truth!

Because we are the repositories for the unsearchable riches of Christ, we are of utmost value and our worth is incalculable! He uses us as He will—to give food to the hungry and to impart food for thought to those who lack His wisdom! We can be used of the Lord to touch the pain of those who hurt and salve it with kindness and empathy. We can touch the minds of those who are wise in their own eyes and help them to see their foolishness. We can touch the hearts of the unloved and help them know they are precious in the beloved.

We who have such limited understanding can give understanding to the lost and dying who populate our sphere of influence! We can give mercy to the unmerciful, joy to the sorrowing, hope to the hopeless, wisdom to the foolish, faith to the doubtful—all because we are smart enough to know that apart from Jesus, we aren't smart at all, but with Jesus, we can enlighten the shoreline of the world—one soul at a time, starting with our own.