Faith is not an intellectual pursuit

Luke 10:21  "At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, 'I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned.  Yes, Father, for this was Your good pleasure.' "

I can be as guilty as anyone at trying to turn Christianity and faith in Jesus Christ into an academic pursuit.  That's just how I am wired.  I have always loved school and I have a passion for learning new things.  Many know that I have toyed with the idea of pursuing a Ph.D, but that is a different discussion for a different day...

No doubt, we are blessed today by more books, teachings, and other types of content than I could get through in a lifetime.  I must admit that I am more prone to (and comfortable with) reading about how something is done than just going out and trying to do it.  But Jesus just told me in the verse above that I'll never achieve the knowledge and closeness to Him that I want by making this into an intellectual pursuit.  They don't call it "faith" for nothing, and faith is much different than knowledge.

The belief that we as humans, with our finite perspective, can understand and comprehend all of the things of God is a lie from Satan.  It's the same lie that was told in the garden of Eden, and we still fall for it today.  We are not God.  We were most certainly created in His image, but it is not the same.  You may see a picture of a car in a magazine, but that doesn't mean you can drive that picture down the street.

Even if I could take in every book, podcast, conference, class, etc., I'll still be as far away from understanding all of the aspects of God's character as I am now.  And that's OK- God designed it this way.  It is not my effort to study Him that draws me closer, but rather His grace and mercy to reveal Himself to me.  And that is something to be experienced, not read in a book.