Things Beyond Understanding

There is one characteristic that many of us have in common, and that is our unwillingness to believe what we do not understand. It requires a man of considerable faith to believe what he does not or cannot understand. Lack of understanding ofttimes causes men of primitive mind to doubt or distrust the operation of anything that is not easily apparent. For the same reason—lack of understanding—often men of superior learning in the ways of this world are inclined to question the purposes of God, His judgements, His decisions with respect to life and death, because His ways are past their understanding and their faith is not sufficient to go beyond the limits of their factual knowledge. Because they do not understand how the words of the prophets are going to be fulfilled, there are those who choose to disbelieve that the prophets have ever spoken under inspiration. Because they do not understand how the process of life everlasting is to be brought about, there are some whose faith fails them in believing that it will be brought about. And because they fail to understand, men often fail to comply with many requisites to high attainment, with many things that would lead them to their highest possibilities. So often we fail to believe or accept what we cannot explain. But one might as reasonably say that because we do not understand why hydrogen and oxygen make water, we do not believe in water. To all who refuse to believe, merely because they do not understand, it should be said, in the words of the Psalmist: “O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. A [foolish] man knoweth not . . . this.”¹ It is fortunate that truth is not limited by our understanding of it; it is fortunate that the operation of law is not limited by our knowledge of it; it is fortunate that the ways of God are not limited by the ignorance of men—and it is also fortunate for us that our lack of knowledge, or faith, or understanding does not change fundamental facts.