Embracing the Mystery

Nobody likes to admit they do not know the answer when asked a question. It’s human nature to at least offer an opinion. For example, I don’t know much about the real differences between a Mac and a PC, but I will be happy to tell you which one I prefer. We must - both as a species and culture, have resolution. We love answers.


As Christians we must learn to embrace the unknown if we are to walk by faith. We must be able to look a question in the eye and proclaim; “It’s a mystery ,” we cannot explain why God allows that to occur. I don’t know why that happens, I wish I did, but I don’t.

If we knew all the answers then there would be no need for faith, there would be no need to trust God because the outcome would be apparent. The mystery exists for us, it is a gift we need to understand and accept. It is our chance to show our trust in Him who created us, to show our faith.

There is a trend in Christianity today to rush forward with a rational explanation for everything. Everyone wants proof that the Bible is true. We rush to find the Walls of Jericho, we rejoice when fragments of scripture are found, as if the bible is somehow more true because a 2,000 year old papyrus reed says it is. We consider it amazing that these scraps say the same thing as our modern bibles. This seems like just another attempt to prove we are rational people, believing in something we can prove true because modern science backs it up.

Instead of trying to prove to ourselves that what we believe is scientifically valid, perhaps we should learn to exhibit the same qualities the saints before us did:

…Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.   Hebrews 11:1 & 2

They walked by faith, not ashamed to tell people that the Lord was in command. Willing to accept that they did not have all the answers. Willing to say the scriptures did not need to be validated, they are not of this world and the world will never accept them:

...All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.   Hebrews 11:13-16

Let’s learn to embrace the mystery. Be willing to share that we don't always have the answers, that sometimes we must walk by faith, for that is what pleases God. Our faith is a gift, both from the Lord to us and from us to the Lord. When He grants us chances to use our faith, let us not try to prove away the things He has chosen to keep unknown. Let us embrace and be thankful for them, faithful that the Creator of Heaven and Earth knows which things are best kept secret.