So you may know

"With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught" (Luke 1.3-4) "So that you may know." There are so many things in the world to know, so much knowledge to be learned. A friend and I were just talking the other day about the explosion of new knowledge in the fields of science and math since the time of John Wesley (the founder of the Methodist movement). The internet has certainly opened up a whole new world of information and data.
But not all data is useful. Not all knowledge is power. It's significant that Luke, the writer of the third gospel, tells his audience that he has written "an orderly account . . . so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught." Obviously, "what you have been taught" is a reference to the good news about Jesus, since this is what Luke's gospel addressees. Luke wants us to teach us the kind of knowledge that leads to life.
Indeed, the outcome of all human knowledge, data, and information can point us to God. Of course, in 2009, much of the world is obsessed with the acquiring of information, knowledge, and data for selfish gain, profit, or simply entertainment. What a departure from the early scientists! Did you know that most of the early scientists were actually Christian monks? Their study of nature and its laws were a form of worship, acknowledging the complexity, the intricacies, the sheer wonder of God's Creation.
Paul writes, "where there is knowledge, it will pass away." All the data, information, and knowledge in the world cannot save us. It will not last. But if we are open to it, knowledge can point us to the One who made us. Even the latest news reports of economic disaster, thousands and thousands of lost jobs, murders, wars, violence, greed, and wrongdoing all point to our need of the Savior and Lord of all. Knowledge in itself may entertain us, help us make money, or simply bore us. But knowledge bent toward experiencing God can lead us to life, eternal and abundant.