What You Know

I admit it - there are plenty of things that I do not know. I love learning and discovering new things. One of the ways I do that is to hang out with my Grand kids - Ella, my almost 9 year old Granddaughter, is a storehouse of information and knowledge. We often say in our family that if we don't know the answer we just "Ella it" (not Google it). She often knows the answer - for example, when I asked her about a "sloth", she asked "Do you mean a two toed sloth or a three toed sloth?" Silly me I thought they all had five toes! My Grandson, Owen, is an expert on cars - he has hundreds of Hotwheel cars and can show you and tell you the unique features of each. I often say "Wow!" when he shows me something that I did not know.

So, as you can see, I don't know everything. But I do know many things and I have learned that it is helpful to others to live from the foundation of what you do know.

I know that honesty and integrity are essential to a good life. I know that commitment is the glue that holds my deepest relationships together. I know that hard work and sacrifice are their own reward. I know that love and forgiveness are critical to daily living. I know that I live daily by the grace of God.

People are always asking me questions about things that trouble them or they don't understand. I consider those questions very seriously. When I attempt to answer, I do it from the foundation of what I know, not from what I don't know. Sometimes I will mention a favorite scripture that has spoken to me on the subject or share an experience where I learned how to cope with what they are facing -- sometimes my answer is to ask if I could pray for them. All these responses come from my place of "knowing".

What we know is a powerful anchor for our daily lives - rather than focusing on what we do not know, I find that what I know is a rich resource for me and others.

Jesus is described as living from the foundation of knowing - he knew that he had come from God the Father and he knew that we would return to the Father and he also knew that God would grant him great power to make a difference in the world. (Read John 13) Then from that knowledge he acted - he lived. Which included taking the role of a servant and washing his disciples feet - he could do that because of his foundation of knowledge.

So take what you know and act out of what you know and be a blessing!

Just thinking, Steve