When God called Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage, Moses tried to excuse himself by saying that he didn’t know enough to do the job adequately (Exodus 3:13). He pled ignorance in the first degree.
Moses was afraid to undertake the challenge God gave to him because he was afraid someone would ask him a question that he couldn’t answer. Isn’t it amazing how we will do almost anything to keep people from thinking we don’t know everything? Yet we are all born totally ignorant. Mark Twain spoke of a man who was, “As ignorant as a newborn babe, as ignorant as twins.” We are all born as ignorant as twins.
Life is a process of correcting and overcoming our ignorances. We all say, for example, that Columbus discovered America. But Sidney J. Harris has reminded us that Columbus really didn’t discover America. What he discovered was the ignorance of the rest of the world. America had existed as long as the rest of the world, and it had thriving civilizations in it. The problem was that the rest of the world did not know about it.
We are all ignorant—just in different areas. Don’t ever let ignorance be an excuse for inactivity. Learn what you need to know. Investigate thoroughly. And be ready to step out on faith. You will be surprised at what God can do with willing people even when they don’t know all the answers in life.