Thanksgiving

Yesterday was quite busy for everyone, so we missionaries celebrated thanksgiving today (Friday). As is customary, we went around and each person said what he is thankful for. I’ve been thinking about something I didn’t mention today, largely due to the fact that I don’t know how to verbalize it. You see, one of the “big lessons” that I’ve been learning thus far is the limitation of my understanding of God. Not only does God surpass my understanding, but I am learning that the Bible is greater than what my mind can grasp. Even if I were to memorize the entire Bible, I still wouldn’t understand it. I don’t know if this is true, but I heard a story once of a prisoner who had a long sentence, so he decided to memorize the Bible. Upon his release from prison, he became a Pastor and had people shout out any Bible book, chapter and verse, and he would recite that verse. Although incredibly impressive, this man’s complete memorization doesn’t mean that he had completely understanding of the Bible.  I’m truly beginning to understand that I cannot completely understand.
I believe that God manifests himself in all creation, including human beings. I believe God’s character is revealed in the human mind. By this I mean that Sigmund Freud’s work on the subconscious reveals the character of God. Think about the metaphor that Freud used: “tip of the ice burg.” Freud’s theory is that our conscious mind is but the “tip” of this huge ice burg–what we think is above the surface. Under the surface, though, is this massive chunk of ice, far greater than what is above the surface.  Our conscious is just a small part of the mind. I think the Bible is like that tip of the ice burg. I think there is so much to God, and his disclosure of himself in the Bible is merely the tip of the ice burg. The funny thing is that we cant really understand the tip  of this ice burg, much less the whole being of God.
“For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”