When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:1-2
I’m finally getting to a place in my life where I appreciate the mysteries of God, and of life.
When I was a kid I loved reading mysteries. “Nancy Drew”, “The Hardy Boys”, “The Bobbsey Twins”, were my earliest reading pleasures. Eventually I grew up to read Perry Mason and Sherlock Holmes and every other mystery novel I could find. I’m probably the only kid in my hometown who took a notebook to the card catalogue at the library so that I could write down every title they had in my favorite kind of books to make sure that I read very one.
But they were just stories. They were clever. But they weren’t real.
Later, college and seminary seduced me into thinking that there were people in the world who knew all the answers, who had the keys to unlock the mysteries of life. My quest became to master the information, to unlock the mysteries, to become one of those seductive masters. But I never got there. I’m no closer today than I was when I began.
And through all these years, life itself continued to unwind and unravel and turn and twist and surprise and shock and comfort me with mystery upon mystery. Events and circumstances and accidents and wonders.
Nothing in all of this makes much sense anymore because it doesn’t need to make sense. Sense is no longer the point because it never was. Love was the point. It always has been and always will be. Love. Connections. Surrender. Christ crucified.
Mystery today has become an invitation to me. An invitation to enter, to wonder, to explore, to be amazed. Asking the right questions has become so much more life giving than knowing the right answers.
Because, at the end of the day, what we know isn’t nearly as important as Who knows us.
Let us pray: Cloud us in the mystery of your love for us, O Lord. Cover us in misunderstanding and mystery, that we might be drawn ever closer to you and those you send into our lives, seeking not answers but communion, community, and love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Daily Devotions 