Things I Probably Should Have Known

So, what’s on my mind?

I’m at the age now where I occasionally learn something and think, “Wait…how did I not know that?” For example, (and this is a little embarrassing) it was only a couple of years ago that I discovered a 2×4 piece of lumber is not actually 2 inches by 4 inches. Apparently it used to be, before it was planed and dried, and now the name just stuck. So for decades I walked around assuming lumber was lying to me.

And then there’s this one: on your car dashboard, there’s a tiny little arrow next to the gas pump icon. That arrow points to the side of the car where your gas cap is located. I drove for years playing the “Which side is it on?” game before I realized the answer was literally glowing in front of me the whole time.

Sometimes growing older is just a steady stream of humbling discoveries. But those little moments have made me think about something deeper: how often in life the truth is right there in front of us… and we just haven’t noticed it yet.

In the Gospels, people walked with Jesus, listened to Him teach, saw Him perform miracles — and still didn’t always understand who He was. It wasn’t because the truth wasn’t present. It was. They just couldn’t quite see it yet. Even the disciples had those “Ohhh… now I get it” moments. (And thankfully, Scripture preserves those moments for our encouragement.)

There’s something comforting about that. Faith isn’t about having everything figured out from the beginning. It’s about being willing to keep learning. To admit, “I didn’t know that.” To laugh at ourselves. And to let God gently show us what was there all along.

Sometimes we discover we’ve misunderstood Scripture. Sometimes we realize we’ve carried assumptions about God that aren’t quite true. Sometimes we recognize that a person we thought we understood has more depth than we imagined. Spiritual growth often feels less like downloading brand-new information and more like noticing the little arrow that was already there.

James writes, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault…” (James 1:5). I love that phrase — without finding fault. God isn’t embarrassed by our learning curve. He’s patient with it. So here’s to learning new things — about lumber, about dashboards, and about the Lord.

May God hold you,
Rev Chris Hester