How do we KNOW something?

One of the questions that comes up when we are discussing the concept of understanding Jesus' parables, is how do we KNOW something? Mark 4 is where Jesus says to his disciples that they have already been given the key to understanding his parables, and yet, they don't understand them. In my last blog post, I quoted Cyril of Alexandria, a Christian Scholar from the 4th century who said that we understand the parables with the eyes of our mind and not the eyes of our body. But what does that mean?

I got thinking this week that the answer to this question may be somewhat like understanding why we love our spouses. I can give you lots of answers as to the reasons I love Amy, but they full short of the complete answer. She is beautiful and loving and compassionate. She is an incredible teacher, she loves children, and is someone all people love. She has great patience and incredible spiritual insight. And while all of those answers are true, they somehow fall short of the answer. I love her because there is noone else on earth for me, nobody who completes me like she does. Deanne recently said of Corey, "he brings out a better me." Perhaps that is understanding with the eyes of our mind.

We will discuss this topic more on Sunday, as we consider the ways in which we 'understand' the Word of God.