When I was a student in biology class, there was a day when we all were brought in to the laboratory to dissect bull frogs. We were each assigned a partner to work with, and to each pair of students was given a big dead frog that had obviously been pickled in formaldehyde for a while. The teacher  gave us scalpels and other tools, basins of water and a notebook of instructions. For the next two hours we were to cut the frog into pieces and make notes of our observations.

We peeled back the thick skin of the frog and noticed how it was put together. We took notes on its long legs and webbed feet. We looked at the amazing amphibian lungs and its chest cavity. We dissected the entrails and the heart. When it was done, we felt that we had learned a lot.

But what we had learned was only biology.The point that I want to make is that we ONLY learned about biology. We learned almost nothing about frogs!

If one wants to learn about frogs, he needs to spend some time among the lilly pads, watching the actions, listening to the sounds, learning the habits of these amazing little animals. Observe the eggs and the stages of tadpole-dom. See how the adult sneaks up on the insects. Differentiate between the “burdeeps” and the “ribbits,” and discover that there are mating sounds, and warning sounds, and bragging sounds, and happy and sad sounds, and much more! Watch how their eyes turn and the pupils change. Notice the colors that they display. Try to understand the conflicts they encounter. In short, spend a lot of time with LIVING frogs and you will learn much more than you can get from the scalpel and the notebook in the biology lab.

The reason I am saying all of this is I think there is too much of the “biology lab” approach when it comes to knowing God. For too many years, too many of us have labored under the assumption that if we studied more biblical facts, systematized our theology, drew charts about the end-times, and could answer all the academic questions, that we would know God better, and be better and more spiritual people.  I am here to tell you that it doesn’t work! I have known some people who have degrees in the subject of God, but did not have much knowledge of the real ways of a living God. At times I have been one of those people. I also have known people who had very little religious knowledge, but they humbly walked in a loving and powerful relationship with the Almighty. We are living in a time when most people couldn’t care less about our theological analysis or our detailed exposition of Scripture. To be very frank, they aren’t even interested in the story of Daniel in the lions den or David and Goliath, which happened a long time ago in a place far away. They are worried about paying their bills, keeping their jobs, holding their marriage together, getting drugs away from their kids, and fighting cancer. For excitement there are video games, ipods, cable channels for every interest, exciting contests of NASCAR and football and soccer and “American Idol” and “Deal or No Deal”!  Not to mention YouTube and Myspace and whatever else there is going on.

However, if there really is a living God who won’t fit into our tiny religious box- if there is a great and powerful and awesomely active God who can and does change lives today, and you are getting to know that God and are learning his ways and hearing his voice- well, now that IS exciting! That will get the attention of  people! It is good to tell of how God worked in the lives of people a long time ago. But it is more relevant, up-to-date and powerful if you can tell how he is working in your life today!

The world has been trying for some time to tell us that they have “had it” with church and religion and empty meaningless god-talk. Please don’t be angry. Don’t write them off. Don’t condemn them to a hot place. Please just take it as a wake-up call. They are just trying to tell us what we should have already known, which is this:  It’s time to leave the biology lab, and to head for the lilly pads!

The lilly pads can be anywhere. Ask him to show you where they are.