When I was a child in the 3rd grade, the teacher talked about the Loch Ness Monster and showed us the famous fuzzy picture and told of reports of sightings. I considered the evidence as it was presented, and based on my very limited knowledge, concluded that it must have been a plesiosaur that wasn’t actually extinct. I was pretty sure. After decades have passed, I have learned more, not only about Nessie sightings, but wisdom, more understanding, and more evidence. Now, I’m not confident at all. Lots of explanations are plausible. It seems unlikely that all reports are the result of seeing the same creature or phenomenon. The plesiosaur idea, as much as I liked it as a child, seems much less likely, now. The famous fuzzy picture most often associated with Nessie has been explained as a hoax. Indeed, I have become much less likely to believe everything I see or hear. For example, the picture above is an AI-generated image of “a plesiosaur in Loch Ness”. There is so much lore, wishful thinking, joking, alcohol, tourism, etc., involved, that it is hard to filter out what might actually have been real sightings of a mysterious animal. Or maybe it was a not-so-mysterious animal, like an otter (or a family of otters) that was seen at times. Maybe some of the sightings really were some creature we haven’t properly described, yet. Whatever it (or they) may be, it is obviously shy enough (if it even exists) that I’m not worried about it.
So what does this mean to me? It means that I have learned that sometimes I don’t know something, and that is OK for now. That is even true of much more important matters, like spiritual truth. I know some things with great certainty, like the reality of God in my life and the trustworthiness of the Holy Bible. But even there, I know that some people can read the same Holy Bible in some places and come to different conclusions. Sometimes I have to admit that I don’t know everything. But I do know the basic, important stuff. I know that I need to keep seeking God, listening to what His Holy Spirit says to me, reading the Bible, and walking in love. But I don’t know some things, like exactly how all of the end-times prophesies will play out. I just know that they will. I don’t have all the answers, but I know that God does. In time, He may share some of that with me.
So my take-away is this: Be humble. Believe in God. Love God. Love people.