Socrates said, “The only thing that makes me wiser than anyone else is that I know I know nothing.” It’s good to remind ourselves from time to time how clueless we truly are. Think of it this way: You are an ant on the sidewalk of a great city…
Your world centers upon the great Trail of Frozen Soil (sidewalk). Along its border are the Square Mountains (skyscrapers) which reach into infinity, blocking out the Beautiful Blue Beyond. Along its other border is the perilous Canyon of Death (street) filled with Shiny Blurring Beasts (cars) that move so quickly they are barely visible—many of your brethren have been crushed beneath the Blurring Beasts’ violently whirling feet.
But even if you steer clear of the Canyon of Death you have to contend with the Moving Trees (humans), massive, rootless shrubs that dash along the Trail of Frozen Soil on twin stalks. The only place that makes sense, the only relatively safe place, is the square queendom in which you live (a city planter), where tunnels and scent trails are faithfully 
maintained, where aphids are farmed and larvae are loved. Although even it is occasionally deluged by sticky yellow waterfalls from giant Hairy-Tailed Monsters (dogs).
Some say this all there is, that there is nothing beyond the Square Mountains, that there is no Beautiful Blue Beyond and certainly no Ant Creator. The great ant minds of the day hold to the Pupal Explosion Theory in which…
As ludicrous as the above sounds, it is probably closer to an accurate view of Reality than the one humans have of the universe. For eons, we thought everything was made of tiny billiard balls called atoms (Greek atomos = “indivisible”). This, we concluded, was why the world was solid, the reason we could walk upon the Earth rather than fall through it, the reason our lover’s eyes looked like almonds. But then it was discovered that even atoms were veritable football fields of nothingness occupied by a few infinitesimally small particles of somethingness. And now experiments in quantum physics have revealed that even those particles have no real substance. They are not physically “there.” They are more akin to an idea than a reality.
But whose idea?
John 1:1-3 says God brought everything into existence through his word (the Greek term logos signifies an idea that creates a reality), and that that Word is inseparable from God. So, just ask God to explain it all, right? Not so simple. As the theologian Adam Clarke put it, “God is indescribable in his essence, known fully only to himself, because an 
infinite mind can only be fully comprehended by itself.”
In other words, God may get it, but we’re still clueless ants on the sidewalk, and nothing can change that. But what if the Ant Creator loved the ants so much he decided to reach out to them by becoming one himself?
Some believe he did just that (Matthew 1:23).
Wonderful! And the picture is totally creepy. But I get it.
;>)
Absolutely love this. This is how I understand our Father’s love – that no matter how tiny, clueless and insignificant we are, He loves us enough to become one of us, to know our pain, and draw us ultimately closer to Him. Praise be to our Lord. Happy New Year to you and yours!
You too, N3v3rmor3!
Ha! You nailed it with this one, Mitch. I love reading that lets me feel smaller than I could ever imagine, feel the vastness of the universe that is God, and the one “somethingness” that can connect the two: the logos that is Christ. What a great Christmas read!
Thank you, and Happy New Year!
I loved your ant analogy, Mitch. I just finished reading Bryan Clegg’s entertainng The Quantum Age. I’m pretty sure he isn’t still in the camp thinking this is all an entirely marvelous accident, but his book is still a fairly good synopsis of the characters and research behind quantum theory. For me – I just can’t muster the faith that atheists seem to have. :^)
… not sure he isn’t still in the camp…
Count me among the “believers.” As Jon says above: “I just can’t muster the faith that atheists seem to have.” How can it be easier to believe in nothing than in something?
Ah, to live the life of an ant. After a lifetime trying to compartmentalize God into an entity which theology or religion could explain, I’ve given up. Undefinable, indescribable, beyond human comprehension. I like it that way.
I live in the zone between knowing I know nothing and continually striving to know more of it. ;>)
Yes! I’m a believer… and I’m so thankful His Spirit still chooses to indwell us meager ants…making even our smallness significant to His plan. Only our loving Father could have ever made this possible by sending His Son! Thank you for painting another creative picture with your words… I pray you and your ant family will have a very Happy and Blessed New Year. 🎉🎉🎉
You too, Dori!
God is indescribable in his essence, known fully only to himself, because an infinite mind can only be fully comprehended by itself. Hmm. I totally agree.
Love this!
This is so well-written and grips the reader from the first sentence. What a pleasure to read!
I’m reblogging it.
Reblogged this on Special Creation Woman and commented:
This is amazing to read. I hope you will enjoy it, too.
Honored to be reblogged, as always, Gwen.
The unknown is and will always be a mystery.
HI Mitch,
I love the perspective, from the ant. Yep, great job. How many of our worries are ant-sized, really. Thanks for always bringing a variety of great writing.
In Christ, Gary
On Mon, Dec 26, 2016 at 10:07 AM, Mitch Teemley wrote:
> mitchteemley posted: ” Socrates said, “The only thing that makes me wiser > than anyone else is that I know I know nothing.” It’s good to remind > ourselves from time to time how clueless we truly are. Think of it this > way: You are an ant on the sidewalk of a great city… Your wor” >
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