1 Corinthians 8:2–If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.

Having a great example of someone modeling something for you is very helpful.  No one would say that they want bad parents so they can learn to be good ones!  Though that is possible, the desire to have good “role models” for the “titles” we may eventually have in life, can be very beneficial.  But there can be drawbacks as well…

Seeing what we consider to be a great marriage, a good parent, mentor, boss, coach etc., may give us expectations that have nothing to do with what God has planned for our life.  So essentially out of coveting, we look at what we would like, and formulate our expectations and happiness around accomplishing what we think would be great for us too!

Yet the scripture in context speaks about living with knowledge that puffs up into arrogance, rather than love that builds up.  Paul is making a case that whatever we think we know, we don’t know what we should, because God knows better.  God is all knowledgeable and is Love!  So walking with God can have your life look completely different than the lives you may covet.  Yet many times, because God is not doing what we think “to be best” we get disappointed at Him.  Because we have left no room for “what is best” to be defined outside of what we see and know….

Faith to live for Christ as Lord must be rooted in humility.  It is not to lose all expectations, but to lose all expectations in what I think is best, which is to have faith in what I want, not what God has planned.  Eventually as we become more humble, we begin to deal with reality versus idealism and unproven knowledge. We then lose the fantasies that we thought God should bless in order for us to be happy, because that was based on what we thought we knew, not in Christ and faith…

In His Love, Ld