Last night, at dusk, the moon was a giant orb floating above the eastern horizon. I looked at the moon and thought about the few humans who have walked on the surface of the moon. It turns out that only twelve humans have ever walked on the moon. I thought of the many more humans who have been closer to the moon by being in space. There have been around 450 humans in space. Then I thought of how many people have studied the moon. That number is certainly huge. Perhaps every human has at least thought about knowing more about the moon at some point in their life.

There are a few career fields dedicated to space. Astrology, which literally means the study of the stars, is the least scientific. Astrology is a quasi-mystical field concerned with the correlation of heavenly bodies with earthly affairs. Astronomy, which literally means the law of the stars, is the scientific study of celestial objects. An astronaut is one who travels into space. Astronaut literally means star sailor or star traveler.

Astrologers are certainly fascinated with the stars, yet they do not venture too far into scientific study. Their passion is kept in the realm of uncertainty and speculation. Astronomers dedicate themselves to knowing as much as possible about the cosmos. They use all available tools to gather as much scientific evidence as possible. Astronauts, though, are the ones who risk it all to actually go out there. They are the ones who have experienced space like no one else has.

I see a parallel to the study and experience of God. There are countless people who speculate and have a casual, mystical approach to God. Then there are those that dedicate themselves to the study of God, seeking to know as much as possible. And then there are the ones who actually experience God in a way that has much more depth and reality.

The problem I see is that many of us see the study of God as the means to the knowledge of God. The word used in the New Testament of knowledge is gnosis – meaning experiential knowledge – a knowledge from experience. The definition explains to us how we can attain this knowledge – by experience. The study of God is important and should not be ignored. The experiential knowledge, though, should be our goal. That will take us from astronomers to astronauts. Or better yet from theologians to theonauts – God sailors… God travelers.

There are many examples in the Bible of those who sailed with God as opposed to just studying Him. In 1 John 1:1, we read what John wrote about Jesus: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life. John knew God. John traveled with God.

I like the story of Enoch. We read of Enoch in Genesis 5:24. The Bible says that Enoch walked with God for 300 years and then he was taken by God. His journey with God bypassed the dying part of life (Hebrews 11:5) and continues today in heaven.

What about you? Are you a studier or a traveler? Are you sailing with God or just reading about Him? We are all theologians. We are not all theonauts. Spend a few minutes in silence with God. Ask Him, “Am I truly traveling with you?” and wait. Search your heart.

I am curious as to what this looks like for you. Just like a trip with my wife will be different than a trip with my son or my father, your trip will be different than my journey. What is your trip like? Tell me… How do you sail with God?

-z

Tags: 1 john, genesis, thenoaut

This entry was posted by zac on Thursday, September 7th, 2006 at 7:47 am and is filed under Weekly Jib Jab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.