Knowledge is, on the whole, good. As Bill Hybels says, ‘the facts are our friends’. Education is good – reading, learning and discovering are all good activities. However, as Lord Byron wrote, ‘The Tree of Knowledge is not that of Life.’ We need to see ‘knowledge’ in perspective. Our knowledge is very limited. The more we know, the more we realise how little we know. God is our creator and he alone knows everything.
There are also different types of knowledge, and they are not all equally valuable. In French there are two different words for ‘to know’. One (savoir) means to know a fact, the other (connaître) means to know a person. God is more interested in us knowing people than facts. The most important knowledge of all is knowing God and being known by him. Even this is not the end though. It is never enough simply to have knowledge – you must also have love.
Love is more important than knowledge. When God measures a person he puts the tape round the heart, not the head. It is no good just knowing lots about God; get to know him and let him fill you with love for him and for others. In other words, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
Jesus said, ‘This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent’ (John 17:3). This is the most important knowledge you can ever have. It starts now and goes on into eternity. This knowledge puts every other kind of knowledge in the right perspective.
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