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None of us is big enough to hold all of God's wisdom, and so He gives a little to one and a little to another (1Pe.4:10). He has made it both possible and necessary for us to learn from one another in order to grow in wisdom, and it is the church as a whole that is meant to manifest the many sided wisdom of God (Ep.3:10). The experiences each of us goes through are different, and from all of our different experiences we can get more glimpses of the glorious wisdom of God.

Let us take some simple examples. One man is healed of his sickness supernaturally, and it is now as if he was never sick. Another man takes a long time getting healed through medical help. Still another man does not get healed but dies of his sickness. An addict goes to Jesus and his transformation is instantaneous, and he does not have any desire at all now for the thing he was addicted to. He has a great testimony for the miracle working power of God. Another addict is delivered through a long battle with his lusts through which he learns many spiritual lessons and gets purified too.

One mistake is for us to insist that what we have experienced is what everyone must look for. Another mistake of the same category is to expect that we must experience the same thing that someone else went through. God could have made things in a standardised manner which becomes simple to understand. But when the same God lets different ones of His children go through different experiences, things may appear to become complicated. But that confusion disappears when we look at the bigger picture of God dealing with mankind rather than with a set of individuals. Once we become aware of this possibility of diversity of experience, our prayers, expectations and conduct become open to learning. We then need to have a personal relationship with God and allow Him to mould us into the particular form that He has designed for us. We will be forced to look at the wider world around us beyond our small world where we sit like a frog at the bottom of a well!

No two of us are alike, and our experiences are also varied. There is nowhere else where this becomes obvious more than in a marriage! But our foolishness becomes evident when we insist on our own ways and refuse to consider that there could be an equally valid viewpoint for our spouse, which our situation demands that we ought to understand. If we go about it in the right way, we will grow in wisdom!

When it comes to Christian doctrines, there is so much dogmatism coming out of the assumption that we are right and there is nothing more to it. Job made fun of his friends who kept insisting that anyone going through a calamity must have some sin behind it, saying that they seemed to think that there was nothing beyond their wisdom and that when they died, wisdom would also disappear (Job.12:2). Certainly we cannot agree with everyone, but we can remember that maybe they know something we don't!

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