“O, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?”
“Or who has given a gift to Him that he might be repaid?”
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.
-Romans 11:33-36
At this point in the book of Romans, Paul has spent most of the previous eleven chapters giving a defense of the Gospel. Like a lawyer laying out his case, Paul dissects our faith, thoroughly examining it from every angle. He leaves no loopholes and answers every objection before it can be made. But even as he dives deep into the mysteries and weaves the threads together to create a beautiful tapestry, he ends with an exclamation of how little he actually knows – because what human can know the mind of the Lord?
When I think about it, I can relate.
The closer I get to Jesus, the more I understand about how little I actually know. The depths of His heart are not mine to see and understand. Yet how can I? My finite mind cannot grasp infinity. This begs the question, why should I try? If there is no chance of mastering something, why should I invest time and effort into it? Striving to know my Savior better while understanding how little knowledge I will attain this side of Heaven sounds completely counterintuitive.
I believe the answer is surprisingly simple.
One of the great mysteries of our faith is that God does not hand me a checklist and demand that I complete it before I can get a reward. On the contrary, while He does give a standard to live by and aim for, He is most interested in the condition of my heart. Jesus wants to connect with my heart first, not my head. It is not about how much I know for the sake of knowledge; it is about knowing God on a heart level so that I may imitate Him and show the people around me what He looks like. This is the abundant life He has in store for you and I. There is no formula to achieve it, no agenda to follow. There are clear instructions and guidelines, but these are intended to lead me to my Savior’s heart.
Proclaiming His Goodness 