May has been a month of final papers, last classes, concluding chapels, and good-byes. When I came to Wilmore three years ago, I was excited, nervous, and hoping to learn many things. As I leave, I am excited, nervous, and still needing to learn many things. It seems to me that I need another 97 hours of class credit before I will be prepared fully to do the things God has called me into and yet those hours are non-existent. My M-Div has come to a close.
As I read through the book of Deuteronomy it seems as though Moses was in the same boat. There is so much that he desires to explain and yet he is out of time. It seems as though Deuteronomy is Moses' last sermon before his death. He desperately wants to pour everything he has learned into this fledgling nation before he leaves them. This past month I have been reading through it gaining his wisdom and desiring to be transformed by these words.
After recording the 10 Commandments in ch. 5, after pronouncing the Shema in ch. 6, and after explaining all sorts of interesting laws, Moses makes a profound statement. He says "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children forever, to observe all the words of this law" (29:29). I have been meditating on what these words mean for the last several days.
So far, what I have decided that this statement means is that God has revealed enough of himself to us that if we read, study, teach, and explore those revealed things of God then we should have enough to keep us busy for our entire lives. The LORD revealed himself to Abraham and to his offspring through covenant. 400 years later he revealed himself to Moses and the Israelites through the Law. God continued to reveal himself through the judges and prophets. His fullest revelation came in and through his only begotten Son known to us as Jesus Christ.
I have had several wonderful professors while I've been in seminary. Many of them have studied Scripture for longer than I have been alive. In fact, they have probably forgotten more about the Bible, Christianity, and walking with God than I will ever know. Yet, they continue to study, read, and seek the wisdom of God. We never fully comprehend all that there is to know about God, his creation, and his awesome holiness. Even as the Holy Spirit continues to reveal truth, love, beauty, and grace to us we continue to seek more. I have found that as I continue to seek that it is out of peace and not out of desperation. I have learned to say that my cup runs over and yet I desire more. I have learned that the living water that Christ offers has quenched my thirst and yet I remain thirsty.
Perhaps it is because the secret things belong to the LORD and because the revealed things belong to us that I continue to desire more of those secret things. I realize that I will never know everything but I continue to seek the Kingdom of God. I know that my finite human mind can never comprehend the breadth, length, height and depth of God's love, but my heart remains set on learning about this love and I so desperately desire to love God and to love others. I believe that the Holy Spirit does continue to transform believers into the very image and likeness of Jesus Christ and as that takes place we do learn to love.
Most of all, I am thankful that I am on this narrow journey of faith. I have shared this section of the journey with wonderful people and have grown so much these last few years. I also look forward to sharing the journey in the coming years in a new location. I look forward to meeting and growing with brothers and sisters who I have yet to know. Quite possibly the most important lesson I have learned while in seminary is simply to trust God. I trust that he will lead me where I need to journey and that he will reveal things on his timeline. I expect that he will continue to act and transform his people according to his Holy Word. I have come to learn to be thankful for the revealed things that belong to us and I am truly thankful for the secret things that belong to the LORD.
In an old Methodist Hymn, Robert Robinson sums up this faith journey that we are on. This has been a song reverberating within my heart for the last few weeks. +May God bless you as you continue on your journey seeking and learning from our God and our Savior. Amen.
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