The Peril of Ignorance

In the book "Hell's Best Kept Secret", Ray Comfort related a tragic story. A pregnant lady was once walking along a riverbank with her child. Suddenly the child slipped and fell into the river. The lady was in the latter stages of pregnancy and also couldn’t swim. The only thing she could do was scream loudly. Eventually people heard her screams and ran to the riverbank. The greatest tragedy was that when they stepped into the river to retrieve the child who was dead by then, they realised that the water was only waist deep! That grieving mother could have easily saved her child but didn’t because of ignorance.

This tragic story illustrates the truth penned down long ago by one of God's Prophets to the people of Israel:

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..."

Hosea 4:6 KJV

The same truth was expressed in a slightly different way by another Prophet of old:

"Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge..."

Isaiah 5:13 KJV

A verse in the book of Proverbs also lends a voice along the same line of instruction:

"Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good..."

Proverbs 19:2 KJV

While not every case results in such tragic events as in the story of the lady who lost her baby, I have come across many people who could have achieved so much more but were limited by their lack of knowledge. Sadly, I find the same scenario among believers in Christ. In Ephesians 3:8, Paul mentions the endless treasures available to believers in Christ but unfortunately, not every Christian is aware of this. In fact, this may be the first time some folks may have come across this verse of Scripture!

One of the deepest desires of my heart is to see believers come to an increasing awareness and clear understanding of their riches in Christ. Going by what I've seen in the New Testament epistles, this was also a burning desire in the hearts of the Apostles. So much so that it formed a large portion of their prayers for the recipients of their letters.

"I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the perception of your mind may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength. Ephesians 1:17-19 HCSB

"For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding" Colossians 1:9 HCSB

Some people say "ignorance is bliss" or "what you don't know won't hurt you" but dear friends, this does not justify apathy or ignorance about spiritual realities for the Christian. In this new life in Christ, what you don't know will limit you. In John 8:32, Jesus said "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free". Knowledge of the truth brings freedom and sets you on a path of greatness and achievement of exploits in Christ.

In the coming weeks, I will be sharing majorly from the book of Ephesians on some of the treasures available to us in Christ Jesus in the "Our Riches in Christ" series. Do not fall into the peril of ignorance. Come along in this journey, I believe it will be richly rewarding.

This week, I pray for you in the words of Paul: may you be filled with the spirit of revelation and knowledge, that your heart and mind will be flooded with the light of the realities of our riches in Christ, that you will grow and advance in your understanding of God's grace available to you. Amen.