The Temptation of Knowledge

One of the most prized god in this earth is knowledge.  It was the cause for Adam and Eve to fall and remains a great stumbling block for us today.

It is out of His kindness that Jesus doesn’t always keep us in-the-know.

Jesus knew His destiny.  He knew He was to be beaten, despised, abandoned, abused, and brutally murdered.  This caused Him to experience the weakness of the flesh in the garden of Gethsemane.  I have heard that Jesus actually sweat blood.  He was experiencing the natural reaction of His human nature in those moments.  He said, “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”  I believe this statement was not only an observation but a testimony.  He was on earth to obey God and He wasn’t going to fall into temptation.  He was to die on the cross according to God’s will, but His flesh was raging!  

I believe Jesus' experience in the flesh leads Him to have great compassion for His creation.

In His love for us, He reveals only what we can handle without falling into the trap of our flesh.  His priority is that we trust Him, and sometimes that means we walk in life without having all the details figured out.

I speak of this as one who wrestles with such things.  I’m a learner by nature.  I love to learn. . . just to learn!  But when my son was born, I experienced the curse of holding knowledge as an idol.  I was obsessed with what the experts were saying regarding raising children.  This proved to be a tortuous jail as my firstborn clearly had not read the rule book!  I was ignoring the wealth of wisdom already in my own heart!  I replaced the Spirit’s knowledge with the knowledge of man.  Oh how miserable I was!!

One of the most heart-breaking ways we fall into temptation regarding knowledge is judgment.  We think we know what is right and we unrighteously judge ourselves and consequently we judge others.  Women, can I speak directly to us?  We are some of the worst offenders.  In our self-righteousness we can be mean, caddy, and we murder each other with our words.  I say this with great sadness, but christians fall into this temptation regularly.  We learn God’s beautiful spiritual truths, but they are filtered and applied through the flesh.  In our immaturity we deeply hurt ourselves and others.

As we grow and mature, God’s revealed wisdom replaces the world’s knowledge.  Discernment replaces unrighteous judgement.  Our judgement comes from the flesh, but discernment comes from the Spirit.  Discernment allows us to recognize what is from God and let go of the rest.  Discernment allows us to see God in this world and His nature in others.  In this way, our criticism melts into encouragement as we nurture His nature in ourselves and others!!  Women, I believe we are especially designed to nurture, so this comes as a great relief to our soul!  

Have a great day nurturing His nature!