God Is In God's Word

 

“Mister, why doesn’t this cow have horns?” asked the young lady from a nearby city on a field trip to the country. The farmer cocked his head for a moment, then began in a patient tone, “Well, ma’am, cattle can do a powerful amount of damage with horns. Sometimes we keep ‘em trimmed down with a hacksaw. Other times we can fix up the young’uns by putting a couple of drops of acid where their horns would grow in, and that stops ‘em cold. Still there are some breeds of cattle that never grow horns.” Not wanting to embarrass her in her ignorance the farmer continued hoping to properly answer the child’s question, “But the reason this cow don’t have no horns, is ‘cause it’s a horse.”

There is an urban legend about a group of famous scientists who stopped for lunch at a small-town diner. Seated at the table were six of the greatest thinkers of our day. Their average IQ was in the 160s. They noticed that their salt and pepper shakers had been reversed. One with the S on top was filled with pepper. The other with the P on top was filled with salt. So, they concocted an elaborate plan to switch the contents without spilling them. It involved a napkin, a straw and a saucer. Proud of their solution, they presented it to the waitress. "That is an interesting scheme," she said. "Of course, we could do this." Whereupon she simply unscrewed both shakers and switched the tops.

The Bible asks an important question: "Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" (1 Corinthians 1:20b). To a Being as wise as our Lord, we must seem like little children to Him. We develop our theories and axioms and syllogisms, but to Him it's just child's play. So, the truly wise one is the one who accepts God, and His Word, by faith.

A graduate philosophy instructor was a newly minted PhD, and he was an expert in Immanuel Kant. A well-informed, thoroughly devoted expert. His seminar on the German philosopher was, of course, excellent. Too many instructors present philosophy and philosophers through the writings of other interpreters. They rely on broad historical overviews and topical anthologies — academic texts that cover hundreds of philosophical concepts — to expose students to a wide range of ideas. As valuable as such resources may be, nothing takes the place of reading what the original thinker thought. His cardinal rule for his class was simple: Read Kant.

The instructor once mentioned a paper he had presented at a philosophy conference. It was one of those over-the-top academic treatises that only fellow philosophers (especially the Kantians) would appreciate. After the presentation, a world-renowned Immanuel Kant scholar approached him, shook his hand and said, “You've read Kant.” The instructor was thrilled. Of course he'd read Kant. He didn't just read what other people said that Kant said. He read Kant. His thorough familiarity with the philosopher's thought was evident. Clearly, he had immersed himself in Kant's own words.

[2 Timothy 2:15] The application for Christians? “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Don’t just read what someone else says the Bible says. Read the Bible. Handbooks and commentaries and background studies are all excellent tools. But if these are your main source of knowledge, and you fail to read His word directly, you might miss what God actually wants you to know.

If you want to know what Immanuel Kant thought and said, I suggest you go to the primary source. Read Kant. If you want to know what God wants you to know and how God wants you to live, go to the primary source. Read God’s word. Know God, know life.