They Didn't Know

They didn't know what lay ahead of them that day. Seven astronauts waved at TV cameras as they prepared to board their spacecraft. It was January 28, 1986. Shortly after lift-off the space shuttle Challenger exploded, taking the lives of school-teacher Christa McAuliffe and the rest of the crew.

On a sunny Tuesday morning, passengers boarded planes and office workers sleepily scanned the New York Times on the way to their jobs at the World Trade Center. It was September 11, 2001, and by mid-morning thousands of lives were lost and the world was changed forever.

Not every sudden loss is so well-publicized. Somewhere this week in a neighborhood like yours, a man will eat breakfast, shower and shave, kiss his wife goodbye, and drive to work just as he has done every weekday for the last 10 years—except on this day, he will die in a traffic accident.

Life is precious and precarious, valuable and vulnerable. That's why the Bible says, "And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, 'Today—at the least, tomorrow—we're off to such and such a city for the year. We're going to start a business and make a lot of money.' You don't know the first thing about tomorrow. You're nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, 'If the Master wills it and we're still alive, we'll do this or that'" (James 4:13-15, The Message).

Humble faith isn't just a nice option for the religious few; it's necessary equipment in a world full of uncertainties. How can we face the future with hope unless we have learned to trust in God? We can't predict unforeseen tragedies, nor do we know all the blessings that lie ahead.

When LeBron James was born, did his mother know he would become a basketball star and a multi-millionaire? When Thomas Edison was a schoolboy, did his teachers recognize the extent of his genius? When 13 American colonies banded together to form a new nation, did they foresee the power of a 50-state union stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific? When Jesus told his disciples to go into all the world, did they comprehend that the gospel would spread to England, China, New Zealand, and South America—lands they didn't even know existed?

Last summer my parents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. Friends and family gathered in the church fellowship hall and watched them cut a cake decorated with a photo taken on their wedding day. On that happy day in 1946, Dad was 23 and Mom was 18. Did they know what lay ahead? Could they foresee having three sons, three daughters-in-law, and a flock of grandchildren and great-grandchildren? Did they anticipate what the world would be like in the 21st century? Did they realize all the problems they would face together, all the places they would go, all the joys they would experience through the years? Did they foresee what it would be like to grow old together?

No. They didn't know.

We never do.

We face each day with limited knowledge, trusting that "in all things God works for the good of those who love him" (Romans 8:28).

We live by faith.