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Matthew 2:2 NLT

'Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.'

The battle that operates between knowledge and wisdom is remarkable. Here the Magi, having travelled around 1,000 miles on the strength of their interpretation of a star in the sky, now seek local knowledge at the end of their epic journey. It appears knowledge provides an important component in offering up reassurance for everyone. The thought of leaving it all in the hands of God is represented as unrealistic, naïve and unhealthy. Yet, when the wise men seek knowledge from King Herod they actually place Jesus’ life at risk and may have provoked Herod’s ruthless infanticide.

Of course, to abandon knowledge is inappropriate. We have knowledge for a reason; to discover more of God and his ways. Without knowledge the Magi would not have recognised an unusual phenomenon in the skies. Yet, no knowledge on earth can have enabled them to embark upon a perilous journey in search of an unsubstantiated event.

I find that with the advancing of age, the danger is that I too want to appeal to knowledge ahead of wisdom. I assume that with knowledge I can future proof my life against uncertainty, and the inevitable instability that uncertainty brings. This uncertainty pressures my mind and destabilises my emotions. It creates anxiety which in turn provokes attempts at greater future proofing. It feels precarious, as if I nervously cling to a precipice in fear of a deadly fall.

In my many years following Jesus, I’ve felt at times he’s far more substantial than the star, at others that it’s all just ‘make believe’. I’ve fretted at my choice or inability to future proof my life, yet compared to the majority of God’s global family, I’m future proofed to the roof. But a nagging doubt craves knowledge above wisdom all the time. It demands I shift from wisdom to knowledge. Hence from personal life choices through to congregational life, knowledge demands that everything is categorised, organised and planned. I know where I’m going and my risk analysis has effectively minimised my exposure to ‘danger’. But it has also minimised my likelihood of meeting God.

QUESTION: What things cause you to doubt, and in particular, doubt God?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, help me to live by faith and not by sight.