I Don't See Much
Most of Reality Is A Mystery
I saw a video clip of a human cell and got a clue that I don’t really have a clue about what’s actually going on in the world.
The cell looks like an overhead view of a city. Little doodads and gizmos flitting around, making other little gizmos. The doodads build structures of gizmos that make thingamajigs that maneuver themselves to connect with whatchamacallits. (Sorry for all the technical language.) There is no brain. No visible command center. The entire city follows a complex set of rules that aren’t posted anywhere. That’s just ONE cell.
When I gaze at my face in the mirror, I see a collection of parts. I see eyes, nose, mouth, chin, and a meager attempt at a beard. I don’t see zillions of tiny cities teeming with activity. I don’t see what is actually there. I’m looking at a summarization. My ‘face’ is the Cliff notes for reality.
Sometimes I put waaaaay too much faith in my ability to grasp reality. I say things like, “I won’t believe it until I see it for myself,” smugly trusting my eyes will give me everything I need for understanding. Then I watch a video of a human cell operating and I can’t make any sense of what I see. It’s almost unbelievable. Noses are only comprehensible when viewed from a distance.
Some people suggest that education produces understanding but that’s only partially true. Education is like moving the mirror for a closer look at my nose. I can now see pores, freckles, and maybe a pimple starting to form. But pores, freckles, and pimples are made of cells. So I know there is a point where giving me more details won’t bring clarity. Education is zooming in to get a better look at confusion. My cluelessness isn’t completely erased by accumulating more clues.
Most of the time, I don’t let my cluelessness stop me from talking. I don’t understand how a cell works but I believe I know how the world should operate. I’ll even look at history and explain how our ancestors SHOULD have operated. I’m confident that I’m wiser than the folks that built the civilization I inhabit. Every generation before me was ‘primitive’ yet somehow my advanced genius blossomed from them. To maintain this much conceit and arrogance, I must keep reality at a distance.
The instant I zoom in and see all the doodads and gizmos at work in the universe, all my hubris vanishes. I’ve got a hunch that there is an invisible reality that props up the stuff I can see. My senses can’t reveal every mystery. My mind can’t process everything my senses reveal.
By God’s grace, I’m smart enough to know I’m not very smart.
(Job 42:3) You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”
