And saying it to your kid who’s just asked why the sky is blue doesn’t count.
Out of our desperation for certainty, we’ve built for ourselves a certain faith. Certain about who’s in and who's out, where the lines end and begin, what truth is and isn’t…
Abraham asked, “Shall the Judge of all the earth not do justice?”
Moses asked, “O Lord, why have You brought trouble upon this people?”
Jeremiah said, “You are always righteous, O Lord, when I bring a case before You, yet I would speak with You about Your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?”
Mary asked, “Virgin birth, how?”
A lawyer asked, “Who is my neighbor?”
Peter asked, “How many times should I forgive?”
Nicodemus asked, “What are you saying with this ‘born-from-above’ talk?”
The Pharisees asked, “By what authority do you do these things?”
John the Baptist asked, “Are you the one? Or should I look for another?”
Love is more powerful than hate.
Words have the power to heal.
Nothing and no one is unredeemable.”
Powerful, two minute reads that have helped change the script in thousands of people's lives.
So many questions; because they didn’t know, and they wanted to. And guess what? Most often Jesus answered people's questions with more questions.
We should say, “I don’t know” more often. When asked why terrible things happen and how are we going to move forward and when will the suffering end and is this doctrine real…”
We should tell the truth:
I don’t know.
There is more going on in this world than we know; than we have the ability to know. The admission of our not knowing is the humble understanding that we have more to learn. And learning, rather than being certain, is something the world could use right now.
After admitting that we don’t know all that there is to know, we don’t ignore the questions; we live in to them. Figure it out as we go. Converse, discuss, listen, share, carry each other, work together.
“I don’t know” is the grand invitation to find out… or at least discover a little more before we leave this life for the next.
In his book “Telling the Truth”, Frederick Buechner wrote:
“God himself doesn’t give answers. He gives himself.”
And I think that's what we should do. Reclaim the words “I don't know.” Stop trying to come up with clever words and phrases to answer questions, and instead LIVE into the mystery. Open hands, open hearts.
There are a few things I’m certain of:
Love is more powerful than hate.
Words have the power to heal.
Nothing and no one is unredeemable.
There is more going on than I currently know.
Saying “I don’t know” is the beginning of wisdom.
How do these certainties outwork in my life?
I don’t know. Let’s figure it out together.
Written by Liz Milani
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