Without any doubt,
the mystery of our religion is great:
He was revealed in flesh,
vindicated in spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among Gentiles,
believed in throughout the world,
taken up in glory.
What is a "mystery" (especially in terms of faith and religion)?
Well ... it's something that may be hard to explain, but it is not incomprehensible.
It is generally something bigger than our limited brains ... and rarely do we like admitting that! We like to be large and in charge. But comprehending a religious mystery requires humble submission and trust -- and most of us don't like submission and generally it's hard to trust what we can't see or fully make sense of.
But isn't that what faith ultimately is?
· It is admitting that there is a being bigger than us.
· It is trusting in the wonders of his revelations -- whether they are wonderful or mysterious.
· As it says in Hebrews 11:1, "faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
My translation of that is this: "Faith is a conviction in a few key mysteries, and it is the blessed assurance that comes increasingly when God's power and presence intersects with our feeble faith!"
Tomorrow, we'll focus on the content of the mystery proclaimed in 1 Timothy 3:16. Today, we'll simply pray (main along with Psalm 139) ...
"1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord,
you know it completely.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.
7 Where ... can I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there ...;
9 If I ... settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me ..."
Lord, you are bigger than I am.
Your thoughts are higher than my thoughts.
Help me bend my heart to the wonders of your ways
... and your Truth ... and the revelations of your Word.
And help me, along with the Psalmist, to
"14 praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works [O Lord,] that I know very well.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
24 See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting."
In Christ's Love,
a guy who turns
mysteries to praise
... rather than
mysteries into doubts
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