By Johnie Edwards
At the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, there is a sign reading, “Known But To God.” There are some things known but to God:
1. The Hairs Of Our Head. Most people do not know how many hairs there are on their head. God does. Jesus said, “But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Luke 12:7). And, yet folks want to worry about things over which they have no control.
2. When A Sparrow Falls. It is asked, “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father?” (Matt. 10:29). I have no idea how many sparrows fall on the ground, do you? This is known only to God. Surely he cares for us. “. . . ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12:7).
3. The Thoughts Of A Man. The Psalmist penned, “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of a man, that they are vanity” (Ps. 94:11). I do not know what men are thinking, unless they tell me. God knows our every thought! “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 2:11). The only way that we can know the mind of God is to read what he has revealed in the Bible. So, we need to quit saying, “I know what you are thinking,” when we don’t know the thoughts of a man.
4. The Number Added To The Church. I often see men trying to guess as to the number of members in the Lord’s church. This is known only to God. We can read in Acts 2:41 as to how many were baptized on Pentecost, “Then they that gladly received the word were baptized . . .” “. . . And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47). Do you know how many that is? I read of “multitudes” being added to the Lord (Acts 11:24). Can you tell how many that is? There are some things known but to God.
5. When Christ Will Return. Time and date setters, as to the second coming of Christ, have come and gone over the years. And he has still not come! Jesus said of his second coming, “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” (Mark 13:32). Peter said that Jesus will return as a “thief in the night” ( 2 Pet. 3:10). So be ready!
6. What We Will Look Like In Heaven. If you will read Philippians 3:21, 1 John 3:2, and 1 Corinthians 15:36-54, you will know all that any man knows about it. There are some things known as, “the secret things” which “belong unto God . . .” (Deut. 29:29).