What You Know

The Journey of True Knowledge: Understanding What God Loves

What does it really mean to know something? This question sits at the heart of our spiritual journey, challenging us to examine not just what we know, but how we understand and apply that knowledge in our lives.

Knowledge Is a Journey, Not a Destination

We often treat knowledge as if it's a fixed point, something we arrive at and then possess completely. But true knowledge is far more dynamic. It's a journey that continually unfolds, revealing new layers of understanding as we walk with God.

Consider the everyday example of tying a shoe. It's simple knowledge most of us possess. Yet even this basic skill requires proper understanding. Tie it too loosely, and you'll trip. The knowledge alone isn't enough, we need the wisdom to apply it correctly.

The same principle extends to the most complex human achievements. We can know how to send people into space, but if we fail to provide enough fuel for their return, that knowledge becomes deadly. Knowledge without proper understanding and application can be dangerous, even destructive.

The Warning Against Misguided Knowledge

Scripture offers a sobering warning about knowledge divorced from divine wisdom. In Isaiah 47:10-11, God addresses the Babylonians: "You have trusted in your wickedness and have said, 'No one sees me.' Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to yourself, 'I am, and there is none beside me.'"

The Babylonians possessed knowledge and wisdom, but they lacked something crucial, they didn't love what God loved. They had knowledge of many things, but they never allowed themselves to come into knowledge of what mattered to God. They didn't love His people, Israel. They didn't recognize the sacred boundaries God had established.

This ancient warning echoes into our modern world. How often do we accumulate knowledge while remaining disconnected from God's heart? We can know many things and still completely miss what truly matters.

The Difference Between Knowledge and Wisdom

Knowledge is what you know. Wisdom is how you combine what you know through experience and exercise it effectively. They're related but distinct.

Picture this scenario: A basketball post cemented into the ground gets knocked over by a car, leaving a massive concrete base stuck in the earth. The problem is clear, 240 pounds of concrete needs to be removed. One person stands alone, knowing the post must come out but having no idea how to accomplish it.

Knowledge says, "There is a way." Wisdom reveals what that way is.

In this case, the solution came through remembered experience and creative application. By rocking the post back and forth while gradually filling the gap underneath with dirt, the concrete base slowly rose to ground level through a makeshift hydraulic system. Knowledge identified the problem. Wisdom, informed by past experiences and divine inspiration, provided the solution.

This is how God often works in our lives. He doesn't always give us the complete answer immediately. Instead, He provides knowledge of what needs to happen, then guides us through the journey of discovering how.

The Role of the Holy Spirit in True Understanding

Proverbs 4:7 instructs us: "The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding."

Knowledge alone is insufficient. We must pursue understanding with everything we have. But here's the crucial truth: There is no way to interpret what we know as God intended without the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

John 16 promises that "when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide us into all truth. He won't speak on His own authority but will declare what He hears from the Father. He will show us things to come and glorify Christ in the process."

The Holy Spirit enters our lives when we receive Jesus Christ. Once present, He immediately begins working with the knowledge we already possess, expanding our understanding and helping us interpret truth according to God's design rather than our own limited perspective.

When we reach a point where we believe we know everything about a subject, we've essentially told the Holy Spirit, "I'm smarter than you." We've closed ourselves off from the very One sent to enlighten, grow, change, improve, heal, and deliver us.

Guarding Against False Knowledge

Paul warned Timothy: "Guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called knowledge" (1 Timothy 6:20).

Not everything labeled as knowledge is true knowledge. Our culture presents many ideas as established facts that directly contradict God's wisdom. The church today faces tremendous pressure to accept and embrace things that God does not accept.

This doesn't mean we reject people, God loves every person. But loving people doesn't require us to approve of everything they do or believe. God loves the person but hates the sin. When we begin to love what God hates, it reveals a lack of Holy Spirit presence in our lives.

True spiritual maturity means we refuse to accept what God doesn't accept, refuse to approve what He doesn't approve, refuse to bless what He curses, and refuse to curse what He blesses.

Learning to Love What God Loves

The ultimate goal of our spiritual journey is alignment with God's heart. Only by receiving Jesus Christ and repenting of our sins can we truly love what God loves. Outside of Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit, we simply don't know how to love according to God's design.

Think about how children know their parents' preferences. They learn over time what brings joy and what causes disappointment. They discover what their parents love and what they cannot stand. In healthy relationships, children begin to love what their parents love and reject what their parents reject.

Our relationship with our Heavenly Father works the same way. In right relationship with Him, in communion with His Son Jesus Christ, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to us, we begin to love what the Father loves.

The Challenge Before Us

How many of us are clinging to what we love, even if God doesn't? Do we hold onto certain beliefs or behaviors because they're popular, easy, or widely accepted? The question isn't what everyone else is doing. The question is: What has God said? What is God doing?

Knowledge begins with knowing. It continues with interpreting through the Holy Spirit. It culminates in loving what God loves and hating what God hates, not people, but the things that separate us from Him.

Whatever knowledge you possess today is simply the beginning of the journey. As you continue walking with God, He will increase your interpretation and understanding of that knowledge. He will help you see, understand, and know more clearly so that you can increasingly reflect who He is.

The journey of knowledge is really the journey of transformation, becoming more like Christ, thinking more like the Father, and loving what God loves with increasing passion and clarity.

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What You Know

What You Know

The Journey of True Knowledge: Understanding What God Loves

What does it really mean to know something? This question sits at the heart of our spiritual journey, challenging us to examine not just what we know, but how we understand and apply that knowledge in our lives.

Knowledge Is a Journey, Not a Destination

We often treat knowledge as if it's a fixed point, something we arrive at and then possess completely. But true knowledge is far more dynamic. It's a journey that continually unfolds, revealing new layers of understanding as we walk with God.

Consider the everyday example of tying a shoe. It's simple knowledge most of us possess. Yet even this basic skill requires proper understanding. Tie it too loosely, and you'll trip. The knowledge alone isn't enough, we need the wisdom to apply it correctly.

The same principle extends to the most complex human achievements. We can know how to send people into space, but if we fail to provide enough fuel for their return, that knowledge becomes deadly. Knowledge without proper understanding and application can be dangerous, even destructive.

The Warning Against Misguided Knowledge

Scripture offers a sobering warning about knowledge divorced from divine wisdom. In Isaiah 47:10-11, God addresses the Babylonians: "You have trusted in your wickedness and have said, 'No one sees me.' Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to yourself, 'I am, and there is none beside me.'"

The Babylonians possessed knowledge and wisdom, but they lacked something crucial, they didn't love what God loved. They had knowledge of many things, but they never allowed themselves to come into knowledge of what mattered to God. They didn't love His people, Israel. They didn't recognize the sacred boundaries God had established.

This ancient warning echoes into our modern world. How often do we accumulate knowledge while remaining disconnected from God's heart? We can know many things and still completely miss what truly matters.

The Difference Between Knowledge and Wisdom

Knowledge is what you know. Wisdom is how you combine what you know through experience and exercise it effectively. They're related but distinct.

Picture this scenario: A basketball post cemented into the ground gets knocked over by a car, leaving a massive concrete base stuck in the earth. The problem is clear, 240 pounds of concrete needs to be removed. One person stands alone, knowing the post must come out but having no idea how to accomplish it.

Knowledge says, "There is a way." Wisdom reveals what that way is.

In this case, the solution came through remembered experience and creative application. By rocking the post back and forth while gradually filling the gap underneath with dirt, the concrete base slowly rose to ground level through a makeshift hydraulic system. Knowledge identified the problem. Wisdom, informed by past experiences and divine inspiration, provided the solution.

This is how God often works in our lives. He doesn't always give us the complete answer immediately. Instead, He provides knowledge of what needs to happen, then guides us through the journey of discovering how.

The Role of the Holy Spirit in True Understanding

Proverbs 4:7 instructs us: "The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding."

Knowledge alone is insufficient. We must pursue understanding with everything we have. But here's the crucial truth: There is no way to interpret what we know as God intended without the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

John 16 promises that "when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide us into all truth. He won't speak on His own authority but will declare what He hears from the Father. He will show us things to come and glorify Christ in the process."

The Holy Spirit enters our lives when we receive Jesus Christ. Once present, He immediately begins working with the knowledge we already possess, expanding our understanding and helping us interpret truth according to God's design rather than our own limited perspective.

When we reach a point where we believe we know everything about a subject, we've essentially told the Holy Spirit, "I'm smarter than you." We've closed ourselves off from the very One sent to enlighten, grow, change, improve, heal, and deliver us.

Guarding Against False Knowledge

Paul warned Timothy: "Guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called knowledge" (1 Timothy 6:20).

Not everything labeled as knowledge is true knowledge. Our culture presents many ideas as established facts that directly contradict God's wisdom. The church today faces tremendous pressure to accept and embrace things that God does not accept.

This doesn't mean we reject people, God loves every person. But loving people doesn't require us to approve of everything they do or believe. God loves the person but hates the sin. When we begin to love what God hates, it reveals a lack of Holy Spirit presence in our lives.

True spiritual maturity means we refuse to accept what God doesn't accept, refuse to approve what He doesn't approve, refuse to bless what He curses, and refuse to curse what He blesses.

Learning to Love What God Loves

The ultimate goal of our spiritual journey is alignment with God's heart. Only by receiving Jesus Christ and repenting of our sins can we truly love what God loves. Outside of Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit, we simply don't know how to love according to God's design.

Think about how children know their parents' preferences. They learn over time what brings joy and what causes disappointment. They discover what their parents love and what they cannot stand. In healthy relationships, children begin to love what their parents love and reject what their parents reject.

Our relationship with our Heavenly Father works the same way. In right relationship with Him, in communion with His Son Jesus Christ, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to us, we begin to love what the Father loves.

The Challenge Before Us

How many of us are clinging to what we love, even if God doesn't? Do we hold onto certain beliefs or behaviors because they're popular, easy, or widely accepted? The question isn't what everyone else is doing. The question is: What has God said? What is God doing?

Knowledge begins with knowing. It continues with interpreting through the Holy Spirit. It culminates in loving what God loves and hating what God hates, not people, but the things that separate us from Him.

Whatever knowledge you possess today is simply the beginning of the journey. As you continue walking with God, He will increase your interpretation and understanding of that knowledge. He will help you see, understand, and know more clearly so that you can increasingly reflect who He is.

The journey of knowledge is really the journey of transformation, becoming more like Christ, thinking more like the Father, and loving what God loves with increasing passion and clarity.