Understanding Infinity

There's always more to everything than you think there is.

Let me give you more for that statement.  My home church's sanctuary is divided into two parts.  The main space is a large and open area with vaulted ceilings and giant pewter lights that dangle.   There's also an annexed section which served as a classroom that makes the entire room into an upside down "L" shape.

If the pastor was speaking from the right side pulpit, he could sometimes be completely unseen by those in the annex.  This was the case for me one particular Sunday, which led my young self to ask my parents if the person who's voice I was hearing was in fact God's.  Surprisingly, the answer I remember receiving was "yes."  I remember that day clearly; to hear from the voice of God gave me an incredible feeling of invincibility.

I know now that the voice was my pastor's, but I don't believe that my parents lied to me.  God was speaking that day.  I don't remember the sermon, but my pastor's voice made me ponder a great mystery.  God speaks to us.  I had learned a deep truth, but to comprehend it, that truth had to be presented in a way I could understand.

Certainly, there is more to the concept of how God speaks than I could know that day.  In fact, there is more to that concept than I could ever know.  That day, the infinite was reduced to the finite.  Only then was I able to grasp what God was trying to tell me.  This works in the opposite way as well.

Some therapists who work with survivors of child sexual abuse use games to evince the stories of abuse children hide away.  Kids have a difficult time talking about sexual abuse because it's such a large and abstract thing.  Children need a medium they understand to express themselves.  The simple is used to understand the complex.

You and I practice this kind of reduction everyday.  In fact, we do it every time we speak.  Think about why we express things.  It's because we need a way to explain an implicit thought or feeling we have.  We reduce what's inside of us into words we can command.  We can't use abstractions that float around within our minds and souls.  Even our thoughts are reductionistic.  One may understand something that can't be put into words, but in order to hold it in the brain, one needs a label for it.  The incomprehensible is reduced by our own need for comprehension.

Jesus, who some believe is God, understood this.  That's why He used imagery, stories, and metaphors when He explained the Kingdom of Heaven.  Because how do you explain the infinite to people with finite brains?  You reduce it.  We run into huge problems then, when we take reduced pictures of the Kingdom as absolute and literal truth.  That's like saying that voice I heard was literally and in every way God.  I did hear God speak that day, but I also heard my pastor.  And the words weren't even the important part.  It was the mystery.

I've come to the conclusion that trading in mystery for answers is a bad idea.  We're not going to see the whole picture now, so our best truth is always going to be a bit off.  Instead, consider living up to the truth that you have attained.  There's always more to everything than you think there is.

*Thanks to Matt Brown and 509 Community for inspiring some of this post and just generally being awesome.