Knowing that We Don’t Know

A toddler can only understand a small part of her father’s life. She knows he loves her, enjoys being with her, and provides for her, but can’t fully understand the depth of those emotions or what is involved in making sure she has what she needs. Moreover, she has little understanding of what he does outside the home or of his life before she arrived. She catches glimpses of these things now and then, but they are mostly beyond her understanding. Sure, she’ll grasp more as she matures, but she’ll never fully comprehend them. But that doesn’t stop her from loving him or him from loving her.

The same is true of our understanding of God. We sense that He loves us, enjoys fellowship with us, and provides for us, but we only perceive a small, small, part of those realities. We have only a vague awareness of what He’s doing in other parts of his creation and only a limited conception of what He was up to before that creation came into being. Although we will learn more the longer we walk with Him, we are inherently incapable of fully understanding Him. But as is the case with us and our children, our inability to fully comprehend God doesn’t limit His love for us.

(Other images about trusting God amidst the unexpected/difficult/incomprehensible were posted at Images from God on November 7, and 15, 2004, and April 25, July 11b, and August 9, 2005.)