We Know Not!

One of the most profound statements made by Jesus from the cross was Luke 23:34, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!"  He made this statement about the people He is facing from the cruelty, pain, and shame of being publicly tortured and killed.  It demonstrates the level of love that God's forgiveness actually takes!  This is one of those things God can do, but I am not sure we could do.

But ... what if this statement is taken more generally?  What if Jesus is making a statement about our actual knowledge of the task, and our continued propensity to miss the point and miss the mark?

In my consulting life, as an "expert" in my field, I was amazed at how many people, because I had the word "consultant" beside my name, thought I was at the highest level of my profession!  I was far from that, and still had far more to learn than I already knew.  This truth (again) hit me in the face when, after seminary, I sat in a hospital room and a man had died that should have survived.  I didn't know what to say.  I didn't have the tools, the knowledge, or the "expertise" to seamlessly navigate that hard day.  I "knew not what I did!"

But then, I began to think about this confession.  Here are my thoughts ...

1. We truly don't know what we are doing when we are submitted to God.  Because it is not us driving the car!  It is God, through the Holy Spirit!  This is not a negative ... it is how movements, not institutions, are built.  The Congo is filled with challenges, obstacles, and ... with God's Spirit.  Jesus said, "I have overcome the world."  Do we believe that even when we don't know what we are doing?

2. We don't know what we are doing when God has made and is executing His plan.  Jesus told Nicodemus ... "The Spirit blows where it will."  Do you believe that?  In the song Shadow Step, the singer says, "Move me like you do the mountains ... move me like you do the wind!"  We are the people of "The Way" but that 'way' is under God's direction!

3. It is not only OK ... it is GOOD that we don't know what we are doing.  Because if we knew what we would face, the mountains we would climb, the waters we would pass through ... we would say, "Not me!"  But we are led, fed, and filled with the Holy Spirit ... "So God, move us!

A final thought is how we are called to be people who are willing to fly.  I have a friend who sells yachts.  In the America's Cup, the yachts are referred to as "flying."  At a certain speed (the speed of escaping the friction of the water and even a small measure of gravity, these vessels rise up out of the water and literally fly along the surface.  Maybe we should do the same.  But how?  Come Sunday and we will unpack some answers and probably find even more questions.

Where the Church is growing is where people, who do not know what they are doing, rise above structures, organizational friction, imagined (and real) barriers, and doubts to become Christ-followers ... not Christ-leaders.  I invite you to the ranks of those who know not, but follow anyway!  AMEN