“Did you hear Uncle Bill passed away?” “No, I didn’t know!”

“Frank is in the hospital with cancer.” “I didn’t know he was ill!”

“Why didn’t you clean up your room before the company came over?” “I didn’t know I was supposed to!”

“I didn’t know” is used in many situations, but most often that phrase is an admission of ignorance. You are saying that you did not have the information. “I didn’t know.”

The old saying “Ignorance is Bliss” leads many to believe that ignorance is preferred. However, just because you think everything is fine does not mean that it is! Ignorance is not truly bliss. You may be ignorant of the fact that you have a water leak under you slab, and be happy thinking that everything is fine. But eventually you will discover that things are not as blissful as you believed! (This is the voice of experience speaking.)

Someone once told me: “Being ignorant is not a sin. Staying ignorant is.” It is one thing to not know something because you have not had proper information shared with you. It is an entirely different matter to be confronted with true information and chose to ignore it.

I read that a dense fog covering seven city blocks at a depth of 100 feet is composed of less than one glass of water. Something as insignificant as one glass of water can keep people from seeing things as they really are. Fog is like ignorance. You can’t see things around you when you are in a fog. And fog is also like the things most people worry about. You worry and fear about the unknown, letting those fears block your view. If those things were reduced down to their true size, you would see that they don’t amount to much, but it can be difficult to have that perspective when you are engulfed in a fog.

I remember a fishing trip several years ago on Lake Texoma around this time of year. As we arrived at the lake, it was totally socked in with a dense fog. Visibility was less than ten yards. I thought the fishing trip would be scrubbed. But my fishing buddy had other ideas. He knew the lake and assured me everything would be fine. We launched the boat and slowly headed out of the marina. I had no idea where we were or where we were going. He puttered along until he had us right up next to one of the islands. On my fifth or sixth cast a huge fish exploded out of the water toward my lure but missed it. That was an awful feeling. But two casts later, the fish came back, and this time he didn’t miss. About thirty minutes later we netted a 27-inch striper. Had I let my fear and uncertainty keep me from going out on the boat that day, I would not have caught that fish! Thankfully, I had enough faith that my fishing buddy knew what he was doing to get into the boat. Some might argue that was foolish, especially if you knew the guy. But it certainly paid off. Being in a fog can cause you to proceed with caution, and that is good. But to let that caution turn into fear that overwhelms you is not good. Worries and fears drain us of energy and serve no real purpose. Worry is just a form of fear.

On that first Easter evening, the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors because of their fear of the Jews. Jesus had been crucified, and they were afraid the Jewish leaders might come after them next! The women said something about Him being alive, but their anxiety and worry kept them from believing. They were all doubters at this point. They were not seeing things clearly. Their fear was blocking their view. They were all in the fog. They didn’t believe Jesus was alive. Those two Emmaus disciples came and told them that they had seen Jesus alive, but still they refused to believe. Fear was controlling them. It was like a fog blocking their view of what had happened that morning. It was into their fog-like fear that Jesus comes, showing Himself to be alive.

After they saw Jesus for themselves, they believed. Thomas would come along the next week and be convinced by seeing Jesus, too. And Jesus tells him “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)  Jesus is saying, “You let that fog of your fears keep you from seeing with the eyes of faith. Those who believe with eyes of faith that see through the fog will be blessed.”

That knowledge, that certainty, that faith—it changes you. God wants your life to be transformed by His love. He has made it possible for everyone to be forgiven for Jesus’ sake. It is our task to make sure others don’t remain ignorant of who Jesus is and what He has done for everyone. We want them to come out of the fog and join us as those who are blessed by believing that because He lives, we live also.