If someone says, “I don’t see,” it is usually a request for more information. When we say “I don’t care,” we admit we really do not want to know. The old saying “ignorance is bliss” is often quoted as a beloved response for having no interest in knowing or understanding.
Consider what happens when our perceptions of life are inappropriate. When we think bad behavior is normal, we tend to believe it is the right way to act. A lack of understanding can complicate our ability to do what is best and right. Jesus referenced such behavior when He said, “Father forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (a) [see endnotes for Scriptures]
So, should we be content with our current perceptions and behavior? Can ignorance really be a blessing?
God’s Intention
God created our life on earth to include experiences with both natural and spiritual realities. While our physical body comes from the earth and eventually returns to dust, our spirit comes from our heavenly Father and eventually returns to Him. (b) In this life, our body equips our developing soul to interact with natural realities and our spirit equips us to consciously interact with spiritual realities.
This natural creation and all of its life forms are supported by the life flowing energies that come from God. (c) Remember, there is “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (d) Natural life is designed to function with both good (productive) and evil (destructive) activity.
Most productive activity in this world involves levels of destruction that destroys what previously existed. For example – our physical nutrition comes from plucking plant life and causing the death of animal life. Houses are built by destroying the life of trees. Rail trains have replaced horse driven wagon trains.
God births everyone into this life with the intention of maturing us into His image and likeness, to be reflections that resemble Him. (e) During this life however, maturity is a potential, not a guarantee. We can remain elementary and immature expressions of our heavenly Father. When we seek God’s guidance and respond to His inspiring insight, our potential becomes more of a living reality.
What we understand about God and His ways impacts our give-and-take interaction with everything; with God, family, friends, and co-workers. Our level of understanding influences what we choose to eat, where we go, what we do, and how we treat each other. Our beliefs can affect our emotional and physical health. We can even be motivated by erroneous perceptions of God and His way of life.
We are encouraged to pursue improving rather than just being what we are. Our heavenly Father offers to enlighten us, so we can understand. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” (f)
We are encouraged to pursue improving rather than just being what we are.
Spiritual Understanding
To help us focus on being more productive than destructive, Jesus admonished us to be open to God’s inspirational thoughts, even to diligently pursue them: “I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For…whoever asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.” (g) We want to be seeking and discovering!
Since every person is an offspring of God and man, (h) we are gifted with five senses that enable us to consciously experience both natural and spiritual realities. As explained in our last blog, “Are We Both Natural and Spiritual Beings?” each of our five senses actually has a functional spiritual side.
Research sheds light on how we consciously register what we encounter. We register information according to these percentages: 83% by sight, 11% by sound, 3.5% by smell, 1.5% by touch, and 1% by taste. Recognizing this, we can understand why people say “seeing is believing!” What our senses see, hear, smell, touch, and taste expands our overall understanding of both natural and spiritual life.
The process of seeing refers to our ability
to observe, comprehend, and consider. Our ability to see and perceive impacts our ability to understand. Each of our five natural and spiritual senses enables us to gather information from both realities and helps us to mature as offspring and children of God. (i)
Our ability to see and receive from spiritual realities is limited when we fail to consider new ideas that challenge or stretch our current perceptions. And, when we see, hear, or comprehend something and fail to stop long enough to entertain it, the insight can be forgotten before it is absorbed into our growing perception. We want to improve and not just maintain our current level of understanding.
Clarifying insights and a proper understanding lends tremendous value to our function in this world. Knowing how a tool is designed to function can simplify many chores. Understanding why we exist and are designed to function can improve our maturing interaction with God and with each other.
Our heavenly Father is faithful to reveal more insight to seekers. Jesus even told his disciples, “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when…the Spirit of truth comes (to you), He will guide you into all the truth.” (j) The spirit of life that is in every person gives each of us the inherent ability to receive God’s guiding insight. How much are we willing to see and accept?
The spirit of life that is in every person gives each of us the inherent ability to receive God’s guiding insight.
God Wants Us to Know
Jesus instructed us to allow the Spirit of truth (God’s abiding presence) to lead and guide us into more than what we currently understand. We are even instructed to “be filled with understanding.” (k) God desires to bring us into more truthful perceptions and greater understanding of life.
While no one has the capacity to fully comprehend all of the activity we encounter in either realm, Jesus said we can more fully understand when we seriously seek to understand. The sincerity of our search and desire has a significant impact on how clearly we are able to see and understand.
It is important to realize that what we already believe can complicate our ability to see and receive new insight. What we may have proclaimed over the years can be so seated in our comprehension that new or fresh insight can make us feel threatened, as if our integrity may be in question.
God wants us to know Him and understand the purity of His expressive nature. “Let him who boasts, boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things, declares the Lord.” (l)
While God loves each of us in our immature conditions, He desires that we grow and mature into better expressions of His character, attitude and personality (CAP). The abundant life God offers us in this life becomes more of a reality when we have an enlightened understanding.
One has said “It is better to be hurt by the truth than to be comforted with a lie.” Can we seek to understand more of God’s ways among us? We can arise from sleepiness and become more effective witnesses of God’s grace, as better members of the Body of Christ (people of faith) in the earth today.
If this resonates with you, I encourage you to dig deeper into the resources on my website. Through many years of prayerful study of Scripture and listening to the Voice of God, many of the overlooked elements and foundational concepts of faith are coming to light. May we all come to know God more intimately each day!
God desires to bring us into more truthful perceptions and greater understanding of life.
a) Luke 23:34; b) Ecclesiastics 12:7; c) Isaiah 42:5; Acts 17:24-25; d) Ephesians 4:6; e) Genesis 1:27; 5:1, 3; James 3:3-18; f) Revelation 3:20; g) Luke 11:9-10; h) Acts 17:24-29; i) Hebrews 5:14; j) John 16:12-13; k) Colossians 1:9-10; 2:2-3; 3:10; l) Jeremiah 9:24
Keith Carroll, “The Relationship Guy”
Relational Gospel Founder
When We Arise And Shine author