There was a woman who used to go to a café every morning to drink coffee and think. Every day, she would see a man come in. He would always talk to the baristas and the other customers, and they all seemed to enjoy his presence. He was handsome. One day, he sat next to her, and struck up a conversation. She liked him a lot, and asked to exchange numbers with him. She wanted to talk to him more.

They began spending a lot of time together. They’d go to parks, and cafés, and bowling alleys. They’d go to the library, and read with each other. They’d make songs together, and cook for each other. She learnt the things that he liked, and the things that he disliked. She learnt about his friends, and she learnt about the type of man he was. But she’d always learn new things about him. Not only would she learn new things about him, she would experience new things with him. Though she knew all these things about him, he’d still find ways of surprising her.

Now, if you can know things about your friends and your lovers, but still be surprised by them: how much more so for God who has no limits? People often say that God is unknowable. It’s said that we can’t begin to imagine God. Some of the philosophers say, “We can’t say what God is, but only what he’s not.” They say that God is a mystery to us. And sure, there’s always infinitely more to learn about God, but that doesn’t mean he’s unknowable.

God is the life of the world, and the consciousness above all consciousness. All things exist by his permission, and all things exist within his endless mind. If you’ve seen anything at all, then you can begin to describe God. Look, and you will see how God operates. You can see the things that he grows, and the things that he withers. You can see the things that he likes, and things that he dislikes. God designed all things. Do not all joys and pleasures come from him? So if you see the path of growth, then it’s by his will. And if you see the path of decline, then it’s by his will. If you look around you, then you can see how God acts. If you look at history, then you can see how God acts. We can know all these things about God, yet he can still surprise us. And how could he not? He’s the infinite Master of all creation.

A small child can know things about their parents. Every day, they talk to their parents, and learn about them. And yet, they don’t understand everything their parents do. How many times did you want something as a kid, and were prohibited from it? How many times did you later learn that it was actually a pretty bad idea? So while a child can begin to describe their parents, won’t there still be so much more for them to learn? So if this is true for a human child and a human parent, how much more so between the infinite Creator and his creation?

Where people can become arrogant and make mistakes is when they think they’re done describing God. God is limitless, so even if you were given a million years to do nothing but praise God, you wouldn’t have even described a fraction of all of what God is. If all the oceans in the world were turned into ink, and you kept printing books about God, then the oceans would run out before you could finish describing him.

But why would you try to limit God? “Read my book, and you’ll fully understand God,” says the person who wants to limit God. “Read my book, and you’ll know that we’ll never know God,” says the person who wants to limit God. Both try to limit God using their intellect. Or perhaps we should say their not-intellect. The intellect is what leads a servant to God. Books, and idols, and debates have nothing to do with knowing God. Can you know someone who you refuse to listen to?

Learn how God actually acts in the world. Listen and observe. Will you speculate when God’s right in front of you? Surrender your heart to God. Make peace with God, and make peace with God.