What is the most important bit of knowledge you have learned? Is it discovering a scientific fact no one else knew? Is it something you learned about another person? Does it change as you live and learn more? Have you considered you may know the most important fact there is to know?
We learn something new every day, whether we think we do or not. Much of what we learn has little impact on us. For instance, we learn each day what the weather is for the day. It may have little or no impact on us, at least on the surface. But there are other things we learn that are significant.
As adults, much of our learning comes from life experiences. Those experiences come through relationships, on the job training, or continuing education. Our experiences can teach us many things. However, we do not always pay attention to what we are learning and do not always put the pieces together to fully understand what we have learned. Sometimes, what we learn are merely data points to us and we do not compile them into true knowledge. Without putting them together as knowledge, we cannot adequately act upon them.
In today’s passage, the Apostle Paul lays out a handful of data points. We must put them together, understand what they mean individually, then understand what they mean when compiled into a whole. Jesus died for our sins. He was buried. He rose from the dead. He appeared to several people after rising from the dead.
Each data point can stand on its own. On their own, they have one meaning. But when we compile them into a single piece of knowledge, they take on a more profound meaning. It is the fulfillment of God’s promises. It is the fulfillment of Jesus’ statements to His disciples. It can be the genesis of our believing His other teachings. It provides us with not just forgiveness but hope and salvation. It becomes the most important bit of knowledge we can learn in our lives.
I pray we all know that Jesus’ story is true. I pray we understand what it means for us. I pray each one of us will compile the data points of Jesus’ life and teaching into knowledge we can use. Compile the data into knowledge. Understand Jesus’ story. Be in awe and amazed at what He has done. Trust He will fulfill His promises.
1 Corinthians 15:3-5 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.
Marty Pressey 