The Blind Men and the Elephant

Once there were six blind men who came upon an elephant. Using their sense of touch, each of them discovered something about the animal.  One man touched it's leg and said, "It is like a tree trunk."  The second man touched the elephant's side and said, "It is like a wall."  A third touched the tail and said, "It is like a rope."  The fourth touched the tusks and said, "It is like a spear."  The fifth touched the ear and said, "It is like a fan."  The sixth man touched the trunk and said, "It is like a snake."  The men began to argue over what the elephant was.


The elephant is like a tree.
The elephant is like a wall.
The elephant is like a rope.
The elephant is like a spear.
The elephant is like a fan.
The elephant is like a snake.

A seeing man came along and heard the six blind men arguing.  He explained to them that they were all right, and they were all wrong.  Each of them understood a piece of what an elephant was, and only when they put the pieces together could they understand what and elephant is.  

Like the blind men in the story we have a tendency to focus on only one aspect of who God is.  We tease apart just one piece of God's nature and declare that that is what God is like.  Sometimes Christians even get into heated arguments about the nature of God because they don't realize how vastly complex He is.

God is loving.
God is judging.
God is merciful.
God is majestic.
God is comdemning.
God is a deliverer.

God is not just one or the other, He is all of these things and so much more.  Unless we start to put all the pieces of God's nature together, we will see only a fragmented version of our creator.  We cannot understand the depths of God's love if we do not understand who he is as a righteous judge. We cannot understand his mercy unless we see that he is a holy God against whom we have all sinned.  1 Corinthians 13:12 says, "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."   I thank God that someday I will see him face to face.  I'm thankful that someday I will really see him and know him more fully than I possibly could in this life.  

Since we are finite beings, I think it is impossible for us to fully grasp the magnitude of who God is, but that shouldn't stop us from seeking his face.  Our hunger for God should drive us toward Him and toward a greater understanding of his complex nature.  The more we gaze upon the face of God, the more we love him and the more we will give glory to his Name.  Then when we stand before his throne we will rejoice in the knowledge of the one who has called us into fellowship with him.