Sherlock Holmes and Vision

Famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his usual compatriot, Dr. Watson, were out camping on a hillside beneath one particularly moonlit-soaked evening.  Holmes wakes up, shakes his friend and yells, "Watson! Wake up, Watson!"  Watson stirs quickly and sits up in a frenzy.

"Holmes, what is it?" shouts Watson as he wipes the sleep from his eyes.  Holmes asks calmly: "Watson, look up at the stars and tell me what you see and what it all means."

Watson gazes up to the boundless sky and the countless number of stars.  He answers, "Well Holmes, I see a beautiful, starry sky."  Holmes is quick to reply, "And tell me Watson what you can deduce from that." Dr. Watson looks again with some intent at the sky before replying.

"Judging from the number and placement of the stars and the clarity of the sky, astrologically I can deduce that Ganemede is on the near side of Jupiter while the moon's size tells me that the tides are high in the northern hemisphere; meteorologically, I can deduce from the night's clarity that tomorrow should be another lovely, sunny day; and, theologically, I can see that we are two creatures among many in this vast universe.  Holmes, how did I do?"

Holmes snapped back, "Watson, you are an idiot.  It means that someone stole our tent."

The point is that someone, like Watson above, can get all of the answers correct and can articulate with  the finest words, but with all of this can still miss the point.  How often have we ourselves seen even mature Christians who can retort all of the vocabulary and can speak the theological lingo with ease, but in the end still miss the point.

For this very reason, it is necessary, like in the above story, to have people whom we trust around us who have the relational equity and authority to speak into our lives and tell us directly when we are simply missing the point.  We all have blind spots that no matter how self-aware we may be we will still be blind to.  This is what Christian fellowship that is humble and honest is all about.  Praise be to God that we could be made so humble and capable of accepting such discipline for growth.