Do you ever feel like the Bible is missing information?
Last year I went through the bible cover to cover. I didn’t follow any bible study, just a reading list. I can’t begin to say I understood all of it by any means. It left me with a ton of questions. And there were times were I felt like the Bible was missing information.
I heard a preacher say once, “If what I say leaves you with questions, I’m doing my job right.” What did he mean by that? Well, we should be seeking clarification. We should be always seeking God so if you are left wanting more, then you are in the right place.
So I thought:
Maybe the Bible is missing information so that we keep searching for God and for answers in our lives.
But sometimes wanting clarification can lead to doubts. I think all Christians have been there at times. The stories seem far-fetched. Not every question can be answered in the bible. There are big chunks of time unaccounted for. And this deeply troubled me.
Why? Because we are people who want knowledge and answers.
But faith is just that, believing in something that you don’t have all the answers to. And as I write this, I think that’s part of the point of the bible. Can and will you have faith with just the right amount of knowledge? Will you continue to have faith even when you can’t answer all the questions?
I can search for answers and get some good theories that can quench my need for knowledge. But I can also rest in knowing that God never intends for me to know it all. There are several biblical references to the fact that knowledge can also be bad. In the Garden of Eden, it sure was. Adam and Eve didn’t know about “good vs evil.” Once their eyes were open to that, there was death and hardships.
So as much as our human nature compels us to want to prove God’s existence by answering our every question, I think it’s important to realize that’s the downfall of our nature. It’s the very thing that got Adam and Eve kicked out of the beauty that was Eden. Instead, those unanswered questions are simply not a part of what God needs us to know as Christians. That knowledge is more than we are required to live obedient lives in Christ.
I’m not saying to not go ahead and get clarification about what you may not know or understand about the bible. We need help sometimes understanding what we read. But if it’s not in the bible we can either speculate and guess, or rest in knowing that those details aren’t important to the bigger picture which is God, and more so, the simplicity of living a life that God directs if we trust and follow him.
