Ever notice that the first ones around Jesus who knew who He was had demons and darkness? The demoniac in the tombs, the harlot. The fortune teller knew who Paul was. Who missed it? The students of Scripture didn't have a clue. History hasn't changed much. If I'm insulated against any school of thought, it's the school that has eliminated the questions and cursed the mystery embraced by the teachable heart of the novice.
I love mystery. It's a foundational part of the faith to be able to pursue the more. Most of what we claim to know about this life in Christ is not unknown, just unfamiliar. To step into the unfamiliar, to pursue the proof of life, to lay claim to terrain you own but have never explored, this is the abundant life. Don't look to eliminate questions for in doing so you eliminate mystery. The ability to embrace mystery is what qualifies you to receive greater revelation. I no longer come to church to have my questions answered because most answers we construct fall well beneath the standard of on earth as it is in heaven. Let God be true and every man a liar, and call into question any revelation you have of God that has been constructed merely as a coping mechanism. A good church service is not one where you leave with all of your questions answered, but where you leave with some of your answers questioned.
1 comment:
i love this post. and by the way thanks for your thought provoking comment on my "reconcile" post. back to my thought. as i was reading your entry i thought of our original forefathers who came to this country looking for religious freedom and the expression of it. they left the land of familiar and embarked on a journey, with no assurance of returning. where in our 200+ history have we laid claim to be stagnant and eliminating mystery? why is risk more allowed in the business sector than in the church community? why do we say that church has to be stable but other parts of our life can be unstable? is it because we know that the corporate monster generates instability, while in our religious life (and i use religious in the broadest term) the church should generate stability? mystery makes us unstable. yet there is a place in the mind that James says we should be stable. mystery is not part of double mindedness that creates instability, it's the nature of God. that should make me stable. question is do i trust him when his movement, thoughts and motivations are outside the realm of my small brain. i love that last line....i want some of my answers questioned. it does not feel good. i can at times feel stupid or ignorant. but i am on a quest to learn. not to have more information, but on a quest to learn what it means to be an authentic disciple of Rabbi Yeshua.
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