MYSTERIES & THE MASTER

"The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law." - Deuteronomy 29:29

When I was growing up, I loved mysteries.  My fascination with mysteries began in middle school, when I read Hardy Boys' mysteries.  In high school, I moved to more traditional mysteries, like Agatha Christie novels.  Even now, I will occasionally read a mystery.

In a novel, a mystery is solved in the last chapter, but in real life there are mysteries that go unsolved.  Despite their best efforts, police detectives finally have to put some crimes away for lack of evidence.  They are later referred to as "cold cases."  In real life, the guilty are not always caught and punished.  Sometimes they are not even arrested.

More perplexing to us are the mysterious events of life.  There are things that happen that leave us speechless.  We can't explain why school children are brutally killed or a very young housewife dies of cancer.  We see good people die young while wicked people grow old without many ailments.  We read about accidents that claim the lives of an entire family.  We witness crimes of terror like 9-11 or read about the atrocities of genocide that occurs in other countries.  There are many things in life that remain mysterious to us.

Then there is God.  Sometimes His actions seem mysterious to us.  In fact, He Himself is mysterious.  We can't fully comprehend an issue like the Trinity.  We find it hard to sometimes balance the issue of God's sovereignty with man's responsibility. 

There are some who won't believe in God because they refuse to believe in Someone they can't understand.  I, on the other hand, have a problem believing in a Supreme Being that I could fully understand.  Because if I, a mere human, can fully understand God, that would make me God.  God cannot be fully understood by us.  Through His Word, He has given us much to know, if we will simply read and believe it. 

Moses wrote that the secret things belong unto God.  I may never solve the mysteries of life, but God understands them & I'm okay with that.  I may never understand why He permits certain things to occur.  I'm okay with that, too.  I am fully aware that if He stopped evil on the earth, there wouldn't be any humans left.  We all have sin within us.  His mercy permits us to exist. 

Several years ago, a movie coined the famous phrase, "You can't handle the truth!"  The fact is that we can't always handle the truth.  God knows that.  We can trust Him with the things we don't understand.  We can rely on Him to ultimately work everything out right.  The verse, Romans 8:28, is a promise we can depend on during the times of confusion.

While I may reflect on on the mysteries of life, I must recognize that I am responsible for the things I do understand.  I understand enough to keep me busy the rest of my life.  I don't have to solve the world's problems.  I'm leaving them in the hands of God.  One day, He'll straighten everything out.

Yes, there are things that God does in my life that I don't understand.  He does things in the lives of family and friends that I can't comprehend.  It may not make sense to me, but it does to Him.  He knows what is best and works accordingly.  He doesn't owe me an explanation when He does things.  He certainly doesn't need my permission. 

When it comes to the mysteries of God & His will, I will simply trust Him.  When I get to heaven, I believe it will all make perfect sense.