When you fly on a commercial jet, it is a unique experience. You are often placed in very close quarters with people you might not know very well, or at all. Your destination might be an international airport, filled with people from all over the world. Some of these travelers are experienced, and seem to know what they are doing quite well. Some are quite obviously clueless.
Not only are the people different and unique, but the places are different and unique. Being in a jetliner gives you an interesting view of these places as well. When you're cruising at 25,000 feet and 0.80 Mach, you see the world in a much different way than you're used to. Suddenly, towering sky scrapers become little metal toothpicks on the horizon. Cars are like the tiniest bugs, and forget about being able to distinguish people. And yet, the powerful weather system you're about to travel through is still towering above you!
In my mind, I know that all these things are true: we are small in comparison to the size of our Earth, and the Earth is small in comparison to the Sun, etc. The Earth is full of diverse people with thoughts and ideas that are unlike my own. They look weird, different, not like me. Some of them have a lot more money than I do, and it's obvious. Some have a lot LESS money than I do, and it's obvious. I know all of this in my head, and I don't have to travel to find that out.
But when I travel, this knowledge becomes glaringly REAL to me...those people are no longer a thought, they're sitting right next to me. The places I know of are the places I'm at. The world looks tiny out the the window of a plane at 25,000 feet, and I am right there!
That's the difference between propositional knowledge and experiential knowledge. Propositional knowledge is like "book smarts": you know something by reading, or by hearing about it. Experiential knowledge, however, is "street smarts": you've actually experienced it...you KNOW it...
I wonder sometimes if we say we know God, but it's just propositional knowledge. We don't really know God. Have you ever experienced God? Do you know Him?
Abraham knew God: he experienced Him. Job knew God: he experienced Him. David knew God: he experienced Him. The disciples knew God: they experienced Him. Paul had a unique experience with God, one that changed his life in an instant.
Do we know God? Can you say that you've experienced Him? Can I say that I've experienced Him? Isn't that what we should be seeking: an experiential knowledge of God, not just a propositional?
