Mysteries and Resolve
Have you ever asked questions and received no answers? Been puzzled or frustrated at something that you just can't make sense out of? Lay awake at night with your mind racing with thought after thought?
Almost everything in society is fact oriented. We as humans tend to get a form of temporary satisfaction from the facts and information we receive, wouldn't you say? I mean who likes to be left hanging on the edge of something unresolved? I mostly HATE it! I WANT RESOLVE!
There was a time not so long ago that I enjoyed life's mysteries. When I was a little boy I would basically embrace things that I didn't fully comprehend. The world has tried to poison me (and YOU) to believe that we will find the peace and satisfaction we need in facts and stuff. I am pretty big on facts and I like stuff.
What if we decided that we weren't going to let society tame our childhood belief in mystery the way that Paul talks of in Timothy? The Message translation says that "this life is a great mystery, far exceeding our understanding." The life that follows Jesus will fall prey to the comprehension game if we allow ourselves to have the magic of God stolen from us.
We might be able to get a form of comfort from knowledge, but there will come a longing for supernatural mystery (magic if you will). That's when I want to step back and let awe for the Creator overwhelm me.
Almost everything in society is fact oriented. We as humans tend to get a form of temporary satisfaction from the facts and information we receive, wouldn't you say? I mean who likes to be left hanging on the edge of something unresolved? I mostly HATE it! I WANT RESOLVE!
There was a time not so long ago that I enjoyed life's mysteries. When I was a little boy I would basically embrace things that I didn't fully comprehend. The world has tried to poison me (and YOU) to believe that we will find the peace and satisfaction we need in facts and stuff. I am pretty big on facts and I like stuff.
What if we decided that we weren't going to let society tame our childhood belief in mystery the way that Paul talks of in Timothy? The Message translation says that "this life is a great mystery, far exceeding our understanding." The life that follows Jesus will fall prey to the comprehension game if we allow ourselves to have the magic of God stolen from us.
We might be able to get a form of comfort from knowledge, but there will come a longing for supernatural mystery (magic if you will). That's when I want to step back and let awe for the Creator overwhelm me.
posted by go to www.chadjarnagin.com at 8/24/2005
2 Comments:
Yup, been there, done that . . . still struggle daily with "totally trusting" Him and accepting that I don't need to see the whole picture or even know the reason . . . just have to obey because of who He is!
BTW, you've helped me refocus on hanging on to God's magic several times . . . I'm often overwhelmed by how you share His presence through your honesty and enthusiasm when leading worship! Thanks for letting your awe of Him overflow to others! (FYI, I was very tempted to use the word "recalibrate" instead of refocus! Ha! Ha!)
i want that awe. .i do feel it sometimes, but monotonous activities and heavy responsibilities tend to crush it. i find that these days nobody is awed by anything unless its something mega traumatic. We HAVE lost touch with wonder and those qualities that we once possessed as kids. not so easy to unlearn our sophisticated thoughts and shift our mindset. I think we need God to help with that.
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