Mysterious Adventure with God

My friends, I want you to know that our bodies of flesh and blood will decay. This means they cannot share in God’s kingdom, which lasts forever. I will explain a mystery to you. Not every one of us will die, but we will all be changed. It will happen suddenly, quicker than the blink of an eye. At the sound of the last trumpet the dead will be raised. We will all be changed, so we will never die again. 1 Corinthians 15:50-52

Mystery. The Greek word is mustérion (moos-tay’-ree-on) meaning a mystery or secret doctrine. It is commonly used used to describe a mystery, secret, of which initiation is necessary; in the NT: the counsels of God, once hidden but now revealed in the Gospel or some fact thereof; the Christian revelation generally; particular truths or details of the Christian revelation.

One of the most mature statements a person can make is, “I don’t know.” It requires a form of humility to say that and mean it. Of course the statement is most widely used to cover up what one actually knows that will show the corruption in one’s life. But within the Christian community especially within the professional spiritual leadership it is almost never said. Why are we so afraid of something we ‘don’t know’? Is it because of our fears? Our pride? Our pride motivated by fear? Certainly a ‘person of God’, who knows God, and has an intimate relationship with God SHOULD have all the answers… right? No. The closer I get to Him, and the more intimate I get with Him the more I realize I don’t know really … anything. He is SO far beyond the human understanding. His Creation and plan is SO far beyond our comprehension, in that what we actually do know is just scratching the surface of His heart and art .. of creation and plan for us.

But yet it seems that within the Christian institutions all mysteries MUST be explained, cataloged, and put to rest. So the people can sit in comfort that their leaders are giving them the Truth and that they don’t as individuals have to seek the Truth from God for themselves whatsoever. Comfort is the enemy of the mystery and adventure that God wants to have with us. Comfort is the enemy of the drive for adventure. Yet so much of the Christian ‘bubble’ is about bringing …comfort. How much is comfort spoken about in the NT scriptures versus the amount of scriptures that talk about suffering, adversity, and trials and tribulations?

How did Paul know this …mystery? How did he learn about it? How did he learn this … secret? Did all the revealing of God’s secrets end with Paul or John or the first century church? Or is the universe and creation and plan of God larger than all of human earthly existence? Are there still mysteries that God hasn’t revealed yet? How does that last question strike you? Does it cause fear in you or a desire to pursue God even more to learn these mysteries? Be honest with yourselves. Is comfort what you seek, want, and desire? If yes, then adventure with God isn’t for you. Only those who are adventurous with God and seek radical uncomfortable intimacy with Him … are given the chance to learn of certain mysteries. I found great relief in the statement, “I don’t know.” If fact I’ve begun to use it WAY more often, and encourage people to seek out God and His answers to their questions for themselves. But then the majority of my life has been in pursuit of adventures with Him. He LOVES adventure. He LOVES to show people His “art”. He LOVES to whisper His ‘plans’ to those who really, REALLY, love Him at the weirdest times. He LOVES to laugh. Most people don’t realize how funny He really is. A really deep intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit will involve lots of laughter. 

Don’t be quick to dismiss mysteries with simple answers. Be adventurous and ask Him to ‘show you’ the deeper secrets. Get out of your comfort zone and start walking WITH Him, and go where He wants you to go.