I Don’t Know

“We don’t know.” I think this could have been the most intelligent comment that the chief priests and elders were recorded to have said.

Matthew 21.23-32

Reference: v.27a So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” (NIV Bible)

 

Explore: “We don’t know.” I think this could have been the most intelligent comment that the chief priests and elders were recorded to have said. So often people try to talk their way out of a situation when really, if they had just said ‘I don’t know’ they may not look as smart but they will end up being wiser.
It was so refreshing to hear the other day a well known Australian pastor, Phil Baker say ‘I don’t know’. I was listening to one of his sermons on podcast and he was talking about big issues that come up for Christians. (http://www.riverviewchurch.com.au/rss/index.php) He said that there are some issues he will always stand firm on – like Jesus being God’s son, that he died and rose again – but that there are some issues that he has researched, spoken to people about, prayed about and he still feels that he can’t go a hard-and-fast one way or the other. What a bold statement from a man who is, no doubt, looked upon for many answers. There are times when we just don’t know. And yet so often we try to make an answer just so we don’t look foolish.

Application: I think there needs to be more ‘I don’t know’s in our life. We think that there are so many black and white answers, and yet our world is a total shade of grey. The problem is that shades are scarier than black and white. In the black and white world there is the right basket and the wrong basket for everything, but in the ‘real world’ there are always questions that don’t fit into either category and that then throws everything out! I think it’s actually wiser, sometimes, to say ‘I don’t know’ than to construct a political answer that doesn’t help anyone. God knows we don’t know all the answers, and I don’t think He expects us to either.

Prayer: Lord, there are so many difficult issues in our world but what we can hold onto is that you are always there for us. May we hold on to you, even through all the unknowns. Amen.

What are the ‘grey’ issues that you are confronting at the moment? What helps you through the unknown?

Matthew