The Pursuit of Knowledge

Three of my children went out the door this morning for the beginning of another school year. The excitement of new friends, books, and experiences is underway. Hopefully, that joy will be followed by the pursuit of knowledge, which will expand their minds and lead to a better understanding of the world they live in. The dedication of their teachers, combined with their own desire to learn, will lead them down streams they never knew could be navigated, bearing treasures once incapable of attainment. My hope, as their father, is that they would love to find these riches, and their lives would be spent in the increase of the storehouse of their minds. My surpassing hope for them, though, is that the pursuits of my children would lead them beyond what is gained in great institutions of learning. The most valuable wisdom that this life affords is not found in the way most would expect, nor is it merely a set of moral principles, an ideology, or a subject to be researched. It is wholly unlike the comprehension one can attain through study and experience in other pursuits, because it is not primarily based on trial and error, reason, or examination. This knowledge is of a Redeemer- a Lord, and Savior. To receive it, one must know Him, and have fellowship with Him. This is what I want my children to know. This is the knowledge I want my wife and I to be increasing in- Him- in all His glory and joy. The scientist can investigate the subject in his field, classroom, and lab, and be renowned for his expertise without ever needing to communicate or enter into fellowship with his assignment. His goal is to reach right conclusions of what can be seen in the world. The historian may read about people or places past and become the foremost scholar on the matter without ever speaking to the one who lived or to those involved. Her efforts are focused on gaining the right records and drawing proper conclusions. The mathematician need not know any individual at all in the quest for truth. His concern is quantity, space, structures, and the like.

No, the eyes will not testify of a Redeemer, even if given the strongest lens that extends the vision into the heavens or down to the molecules. The mind may be exercised with the most challenging complexities of life, and work out all its logic, without ever contemplating the One who was its Author. The senses will not lead you to the choicest shores of wisdom. By them, a man can know God exists, but never know the treasures He possesses. He could regurgitate facts about the Supreme Being, but never feel the profundity of His mercy, grace, and love. These pearls are sought by diving into the depths of God's Word, being made visible by His Spirit; and the one who believes what He sees will find his search fruitful. Ultimate wisdom in mankind is expressed when he believes in the God who loves him and saves him from his inability to think, feel, and choose rightly. Humanity may have progressed in understanding its surroundings and how to function in them, but all are separated from God by their sin. Communion with the most glorious mind and heart was achieved, not by man's pursuit of God, but God's pursuit of man, when Jesus Christ purchased our allegiance with His blood. Our senses will tell us something has gone wrong in the world, but only Word and Spirit open our eyes to the salvation, healing, and peace that has been won by our Lord. Through Jesus Christ, we have intimate knowledge of the God of all wisdom, and only through Him will every other subject find its supreme expression and man's enjoyment in them.

I'm thankful for the school my children attend, and for the teachers who have been entrusted with their minds. I hope they are challenged, and their worlds expand through the knowledge they gain, but my greatest hope, is that they will know, not merely the wisdom of what has been created, but the Creator who is also Redeemer.

Grace be with you all,
Lonnie Atwood