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Who Am I?
Their first baby is due next spring.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s baby will have no idea who he or she is for a long time.
It will know very little. Except who gives it food. Who gives it comfort. Who keeps it warm and dry.
And that will be perfectly enough.
What about you? How much do you think you need to know to be enough?
It’s a lot less than you think.
What We Don’t Know
Sometimes what we don’t know can hurt us. An unhealthy work environment. A toxic church leader. Or even a spoiled chicken sandwich.
Knowledge can be power.
But when we think we don’t know enough to be a “good” Christian? Or we don’t know enough to deserve God’s love? Or to share His good news with others?
We’re misguided.
We do know enough already.
Remember how little the original apostles knew. They misunderstood Jesus at every turn. Not just in the little things, but in the overall picture.
Yet even with their minimal knowledge, they were still empowered to spread the gospel all around the world.
And for those who thought they did know many things? It filled them with pride.
“But this knowledge only fills people with pride. It is love that helps the church grow stronger.”
1 Corinthians 8:1 (ERV)
And this:
“Those who think they know something do not yet know anything as they should.”
1 Corinthians 8:2 (ERV)
It’s Not What WE Know
It’s not just our own knowledge that gets us out of tight spots or into healthy places.
It’s the Lord’s knowledge through us.
“Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for GOD’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to GOD! Run from evil!”
Proverbs 3:5-7 (The Message)
As followers of Christ, we can rely on His knowledge to lead us into good things.
Just as a baby doesn’t have to understand that he’s royalty in order to be royalty, neither do we have to understand every intricate working of the kingdom in order to be children of the King.
And to have access to His treasures.
We Know Enough
We already know enough to be used by God.
We already know enough:
- To help our sister
- To mentor our child
- To love our enemy
- To serve our neighbor
- To praise our God
We know enough to run to Jesus and learn from Him.
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Matthew 11:29 (ESV)
We don’t have to wait to know more.
Let’s use what we already know as we keep learning more. (Acts 19:2-6).
Identify with Royalty
Who we are is not dependent on what we know, but on Whose we are (2 Timothy 1:9). We can cry, “Abba! Father!” because we have been adopted as daughters and sons (Romans 8:15-16).
Our identity in Christ is solid, regardless of whether we can recite all 66 books of the Bible or if we need the index to find Genesis.
We can rest from striving to know it all.
We can find freedom in living out our true identity.
The royal baby next year won’t understand for years that he or she is an heir to a rich inheritance. But as it grows in understanding, it can appreciate and be empowered by its position.
So it is with us.
We can’t yet grasp how wide and long and high and deep is Christ’s love for us (Ephesians 3:18).
Christ’s love surpasses knowledge (Ephesians 3:19).
But the more we grow into our identity, the more aware we are of the benefits of our birthright.
- We are called (2 Timothy 1:9).
- We are free (Galatians 5:1).
- We are royalty (1 Peter 2:9).
Do you typically think, “I don’t know enough yet to do this or try that”? Or do you forge ahead anyway?
Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Here’s a beautiful new song by Lauren Daigle—“You Say“—to remind you of who you are.
Lisa, I found this encouraging this morning. We know enough for what we will encounter today. Jesus is always enough and in this, I can rest.
Yes! His grace is new every morning. I’m so grateful we don’t have to have it all figured out. He handles that for us. Thanks, Joanne.
I do this all the time… hesitate to speak or do because I don’t feel qualified yet. It IS prideful. God has been teaching me about this a lot lately, most recently, plunging me into a new adventure I’d been analyzing and trying to figure out for months. He set it up so I didn’t have a choice but to jump in before I felt ready. Now, I’m paddling away, completely dependent on Him, and looking forward to what kind of ride He’s taking me on! It’s the best place to be – trusting His control instead of trying to control what isn’t mine to control in the first place!
Good for you in plunging into your new adventure with faith, Jana. That is hard to do. But yes, it is a great way to temper our pride. :) Keep paddling! God’s got this. Thanks for sharing this with us here. It’s encouraging.
Lisa, I so appreciated this! God has given us everything we need, He says, to live godly lives. I especially like your point that the apostles and early believers didn’t know a lot either!!
Thanks, Bethany. Yes—when I think about the whole wealth of the New Testament that we have at our fingertips, it is overwhelming how much more we know than they could see, even though they were living in it. (Granted, I would SO want to see and hear Jesus in the flesh back then!!!) But I am grateful we have this rich history to draw from.
Love this, Lisa. laurensparks.net
Thanks, Lauren.
Thank you for this encouragement. I will never know enough. But as a child of God I will know just enough because He will lead me to the answers. Blessings and hugs!
I totally agree with you, Mary. God always lets us in on what we need to know; the rest, we shouldn’t worry about (I have to preach that to myself!). :)