Knowledge Versus Spirituality

I use a booklet for my short time of prayer and passage reading. It has bits of the Bible with some comments, and it also has short excerpts from Christian books.

One of the stories had a testimony of a pastor. He, in his youth, traveled to a local island with a group of fellow church-goers for a short outreach program. Unfortunately, one of the members got bitten by a centipede. The boat out of the island only came once a day and the locals did not have any means of medical treatment. They all murmured that she needed help fast, or her life may be in danger.

The pastor prayed throughout the night for the well-being of the member. He wrote about how the locals were mocking the team, for although the team came in the name of God, they had to deal with something even the locals rarely had to deal with. The pastor was concerned that they may not be able to do justice to the Gospel, and that all this outreach mission would result in someone’s death, rather than glorifying God.

The next morning came, and the pastor saw with his eyes the glory of God, for the woman was perfectly healthy with no sight of swelling whatsoever.

In the last bit, he wrote that even 30 years after, he still remembers that moment, and that it even brings tears to his eyes.

After having read the story, I went online and checked for the treatment of centipede bites, being the overly passionate but sadly not as smart, medical student. Surprisingly, it was said that centipedes, Korean ones at least, usually carry no poison. The bites are mostly harmless (still painful).

This got me thinking about the way Christian think. I mean no disrespect to the pastor, but would he still have been as passionate in prayer if he knew that the bite was not lethal? How are we to deal with our lack of insight?

The love and healing experienced by the pastor was indeed real. It still brings tears to his eyes. I do not wish to take that away from him, but what are we to pray for then? The key to Christianity is in the relationship with God. It is not about the knowledge of the Bible, not simply about miracles. It is the walk with God that should be desired. Then, are we to pray for knowledge so that we know about His created world? How far do miracles extend to versus human imperfection? Where is the line between divine intervention and simply the created world?

There is still so much that I do not know. How can I be so arrogant then?