qondio.com/gh0K

How can five blind men describe an elephant?

By Jim Odom

The first blind man leaned up against the side of the elephant and exclaimed, "An elephant is like a wall." The second blind man felt of the legs of the elephant and said, "No, the elephant is very much like a tree trunk." The third blind man was examining the ears of the elephant and said, "The elephant is like a fan." The fourth blind man was holding the elephant's trunk in his hands and thought the elephant was much like a fire hose. The fifth blind man holding on to the elephants tail said, "The elephant feels very much like a rope."

Of course all of them had a brief "look" at the elephant, and described it based on their own experiences. None of them had the entire picture of the nature and image of what an elephant was really like. These features described were of course the physical features of the elephant and didn't even begin to describe the temperament or character of this gentle giant of an animal.

How do we describe God? Is God like the Old Testament and full of wrath? Will he turn you into a pillar of salt just for looking back at the sin you just left? Is he full of love as portrayed in the person of Jesus who was God in human form? How shall we describe Him?

The answer of course is that we can't. All of us have our own vision of what God is like. We have had a glimpse of His nature, His character, and His image; but none of us have "seen" God. We are all like the blind men describing the elephant.

Moses saw him as a burning bush. When God was asked by Moses, "Who shall I say sent me?" God's reply was to just say, "I AM." I AM seemed to be an all inclusive title for God meaning that He was all you need.

I see God as a kind Father who wants what is best for me. His laws are not burdensome but instead given so that I will live a happy and fulfilling life. Some maybe have not had a good "Father image". Maybe their father was abusive or absentee. For a person who never had a really good relationship with their earthly father, a view of God as a Heavenly Father may be flawed.

Their "vision" of the attributes of a father may not fit what I see as how a father should treat his children. For me, I see God as loving, caring, and active in my life. I feel I can talk to Him about anything just as I would a trusted friend. Until you really try to "see" God this way, you can never have a relationship. If you see him as angry, and full of wrath because of your shortcomings, you will not even attempt to form a relationship with Him. Once you do have a relationship, you will never see God any other way than good, kind, loving, and caring about you personally.

Just one example of how God has been personal to me and how I "see" Him: My mother, in her eighties, was close to death in a nursing home. My brothers and sisters were summoned to decide if we would place her on a feeding tube and a ventilator to keep her alive. The decision would be heart wrenching for the children. We would almost have to decide if she will live or die. As I got close to the nursing home, I asked God to please take care of mom. At that exact moment, the clouds opened and rays of sun shone through the overcast sky. I saw that as acknowledgment from Him that He was caring for her. When I arrived, she had just died and her death would have been at that same moment that the clouds opened up. I KNEW she was with Him and this had been His way of telling me.

How do you "see" God? Is He your friend, or is He full of wrath towards you?

This story of the elephant is one that is very good to use when illustrating how good hearted people can sometimes fervently belief something that is in direct contrast to what their equally good-hearted friends may see and belief. It is a wonderful story for teaching people to be more open-minded.

Read the comment from Biblefreeorg below. I believe Franklyn made an excellent reply that I would have made about your comment, " It is a wonderful story for teaching people to be more open-minded."

Thanks for your support

Some people would say that all five blind men were correct. The reality is each was wrong. An elephant is nothing like a wall, a tree trunk, a fan, a fire hose, or a rope.

They were trying to understand something they had never known by comparing it to something they had known. This is how we learn anything new.

When we try to understand God in this way we have an additional problem. We don't know of anything that is even a good comparison to a small part of Him. We try to make analogies to make God fit into something we understand but I believe we know of nothing that would even start to make a good analogy.

Thank you, this is a perfect summary of the intel. That was the exact point I was trying to make. The Bible even says:
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. -- 1 Cor. 13:12

However, we can "know in part". We see God in a lot of ways (read Arthur's intel) I linked to it.

Well done, Jim,
The story of the blind men was a little twee because anybody who has been around blind people for any length of time will know that they 'look' at physical objects in great detail.

I am aware that there are events in my life that could be considered 'God' inspired but they have all been very personal to me. A parting of the clouds might have meant one thing to you in respect of your mother but it could also have meant something different to many of the other people who shared the phenomenon.

I cannot deny that my many personal experiences of an 'intervention' in my life lead me to believe that God is in His heaven and all will be well but I always have this major concern.

Why would an all knowing all seeing God create something as insignificant as mankind?

RE: " they 'look' at physical objects in great detail."..... They "looked" at all the detail that was available to them. The person feeling the tail, wasn't allowed to, or couldn't get around to the other parts of the elephant. I should have made that point in the intel. Thanks for mentioning that.

RE: "they have all been very personal to me" I seem to remember an intel by you about some bees buzzing and a frog that needed saving. (yes it had an impact). Bees buzzing wouldn't have meant anything to me, just like the overcast sky suddenly having sun rays breaking through, wouldn't have meaning for you. Think of the twee story of the elephant; you "saw" Him as a tree trunk, and I saw Him as a hose.

RE: "Why would an all knowing all seeing God create something as insignificant as mankind?"...For those of us with children we know the answer to this: Your children are not insignificant no matter how insignificant they are.

I know that you know which intel I am referring to, but I will add an external link below. You may want to go back and re-read it

http://www.qondio.com/how-does-god-speak-to-you

See hyperlink below

Thank you very much for this Jim. In my recent intel about God, I was more "logical" and dispassionate. You brought the personal aspect home. I had a similar experience with my mother, and I know EXACTLY how you feel.
Regards,
Jim

Thanks for the comment. Those are the times when you KNOW God is real. It's difficult to convey your "proof" to someone who has not seen the heart of the "elephant".

I enjoyed your intel as well.

The combination of this great read, plus all of the intelligent comments topped off with a great image make this a double 5, Jim.
Thank you for this excellent contribution.
Best to you.
Frederick

You're too kind Frederick. I'll try doubly hard on the next one. The contributions from comments made by others, added a lot

Jim O

The copyright for this content entitled "How can five blind men describe an elephant?" has been specified by the contributor as:

This content may not be copied, distributed or adapted by anyone under any circumstances.