Signs of the Tyne

While walking along the Tyne this week, the high pressure and lack of wind caused the water of the great river to be calm and still-looking. The majestic bridges connecting Gateshead with Newcastle were beautifully reflected in the water over which they spanned. Although not as clear an image as the real bridge, the shapes and features could be clearly discerned by gazing at the water’s surface.

Those of us who know the scriptures, or who strive to know them better, are increasingly aware that what we know is little, and what we understand is less. Questions about the qualities of God and the reality of eternity are beyond our current intellects, and are not fully explained by the information which the Holy Spirit has made available. This is why so many speculate, which is an unhelpful, though understandable, response to address those questions we cannot fathom. The Apostle writes in 1 Corinthians 13:12:

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Show me the cleverest theologian, the most knowledgable Christian writer and the ablest and most confident of preachers, and I’ll show you a man staring into the Tyne while describing its bridges. So if you do not understand everything in the Bible, fear not, for few of us do. The question is not whether we have mastered it, but whether we believe it.