February 2. I Am Nothing.

February 2. I Am Nothing.

And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:2)

Prophetic powers, understanding mysteries, having all knowledge, having all faith.

These are things that make up the best science fiction and fantasy stories.  A seer who can discern the great mysteries of life; jacking into a system that will allow you to access knowledge regarding anything you desire; a prophet who can proclaim the truth of what tomorrow will bring; great faith that will bring God’s hand to bear on any situation we encounter.

Which of these might tempt you?

When I first saw the movie “The Matrix,” I was overwhelmed by the power of the story and the impact of the special effects.  It didn’t take long for me to see it again and again.  Would I be against someone inserting a jack into my brainstem so I could immediately access and use the knowledge of the world?  Absolutely not.  I’d do that in a heartbeat.  Neo learned martial arts and how to fly a helicopter. There were training programs for riding motorcycles.  All of these things came with immediacy and once learned, it is assumed the knowledge remained.

I would love to have that kind of immediacy to understanding mysteries and gaining knowledge.  In the movie trilogy, Neo ends up sacrificing himself over and over to save the world.  We understood the power of what he did because of the love that he had.  It was a basic motivator for him.

There were other characters in the movies that had access to the same immediacy and amount of knowledge.  Their purpose for gaining access to all of that was selfish; whether to build fortunes or power.  No one could understand why Linus Torvald wanted to release the power of Linux to the world.  He could have made millions had he kept it and built a private company.  Corporations today thrive on the privacy of the knowledge they acquire.  Power and wealth are great motivators and it seems that most of the time they are greater motivators than love.

Our public school system today comes from early Sunday Schools in England in 1780.  Street children were stuck in mills six days a week and on Sundays they were released to the streets, terrorizing people.  One man decided to fill their minds with knowledge of God’s love and with food.  He opened the first public Sunday school in a home and soon the idea spread.  John Wesley incorporated the idea into his Wesleyan groups. The Queen of England caught on to the idea and helped with fund-raising. In just seven years, more than 250,000 children were involved in Sunday schools around the country and over the next fifty years, more than 1 ½ million children were being taught around the world.

When love provides a foundation for knowledge and understanding mysteries, for prophecy and faith, lives are changed.

For me personally, no matter how much knowledge I gain, I am absolutely nothing without love as my foundation.