I love reading mystery novels. I have since I was a kid. I enjoy the puzzle of trying to figure out who did it. In a typical mystery novel, the reader gets little pieces and glimpses of the truth along the way, and then in the last chapter the detective puts it all together and tells the illusive story of what really happened.
If following Jesus is like a mystery novel, we haven’t gotten to the last chapter.
I recently heard a pastor say, “Because Jesus came, we don’t have to wonder what God is like anymore.” I’m not so sure about this. As a Christian, I believe that God coming to earth as a baby helps to clarify many things about God. But does the incarnation of Christ remove our need to wonder about God? It seems to me that it places a great mystery (God in human flesh) at the very heart of humanity’s relationship with God. In that sense, Jesus’ coming may raise many questions about what God is like even as it answers others.
In his letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul said, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12).”
Throughout his lifetime, Paul had come to know many new things about God. Ways he used to think about God were completely changed. Great mysteries were revealed to him (see Romans 16:25; 1 Corinthians 2:7; Ephesians 3:3; 1 Timothy 3:16). Yet, Paul was also convinced that the best we can ever do in this life is to see through a mirror, dimly. Paul retained a place for mystery while also believing that he could trust God and grow in his knowledge of God. How is this possible?
Mystery recognizes there is a difference between knowing something fully and not knowing it at all. Mystery is a name that we give to things or experiences that we don’t understand very well or have difficulty explaining. It occupies that in-between space where there is some degree of knowing, but it is partial and incomplete. If we don’t have any knowledge of something then it is not mysterious to us, it is completely unknown to us.
Thus, mystery has to do with the relationship between our experience and the way we make sense of or process that experience. If what we experience does not fit within our existing framework of reality, then it will be difficult for us to understand and maybe even difficult for us to describe. It is a mystery to us. But that doesn’t mean it is not true or real. It just means the logical faculties of our brain are having trouble processing it. Often, deep truths first come to our consciousness in the form of a mystery. And many things retain a quality of mystery in the face of our best efforts to understand them.
I think this is true of God. There are things we can come to know about God and God’s ways, but there will always be things about God that we don’t know, and experiences of God that we will have trouble understanding or explaining. Why? Because we are not God. Although Western culture has often been preoccupied with knowing things and trying to eliminate mystery as much as possible, those who seek to know the God who created the entire universe must become comfortable with mystery. As indigenous theologian Randy Woodley puts it, “Part of human spirituality is to be content to leave mystery as mystery.” (1)
So instead of seeing mystery as a negative, I think we can learn to see mystery as a positive in our lives. Richard Rohr has a helpful way of explaining the positive side of mystery in relation to our faith:
“Mystery is not something you can’t know. Mystery is endless knowability. Living inside such endless knowability is finally a comfort, a foundation of ultimate support, security, unrestricted love, and eternal care. For all of us, it takes much of our life to get there; it is what we surely mean by ‘growing’ in faith. I can’t prove this to you. Each soul must learn on its own, hopefully aided by observing other faith-filled people.”(2)
Whether we are sipping a cup of coffee, watching a storm out the window, or talking to a friend who is going through a difficult circumstance, there is always some mystery involved – there are always more ways, different ways and deeper ways to “know” those experiences. How much more is this true of God? If spiritual growth is about connecting with God and learning more about God and God’s ways, then mystery will always be a part of it. Because, thankfully, God is very big, and God’s ways and thoughts are much higher than mine.
As a human being, my responsibility in creation is not to figure it all out or make sense of all the mysteries of the universe (or even my life)! My responsibility is to lean fully into the things I do know about God while being honest about all the other things that I don’t know. Embracing God’s mystery does not mean being content with all my questions about God going unanswered or settling for an idea of God that is vague, undefined, uncertain, or distant. It means always holding space in my heart and mind for a God who is so vast, deep, complex, and beautiful that there will always be new things about God for me to discover and be surprised by.
After twenty-three years of marriage to my wife, Heather, I’m still learning new things about her, and I love that… at least most of the time.☺ My relationship with Heather is ongoing and dynamic. It is never finished. I don’t love some abstract idea of Heather in the past or the future. I love Heather, a living person in the present who always holds within herself the possibility of surprises and new discoveries for me. I can trust this process because it is in the context of loving relationship. In this way, I think the mysteries of God can deepen our love for God. There is always more of God to know and experience and share than what we have previously known. This journey of discovery is good not because we know perfectly, but because whatever knowing (or unknowing) that happens is in the context of God’s “love that surpasses knowledge (Ephesians 3:18-19).”
Randy S. Woodley, Shalom and the Community of Creation: An Indigenous Vision (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012), 100.
Richard Rohr, Holding the Tension: The Power of Paradox (CAC: 2007), disc 3.
About the Author
Aaron is a passionate seeker of God and truth, and he enjoys encouraging others in their own pursuits of the same. He especially likes to think about how God is at work in the most ordinary and mundane aspects of our existence. He loves going on adventures to new places with his wife, Heather, and four kids and his perfect day would involve an excellent cup of coffee (or two!), a hike to somewhere beautiful and serene, and some good conversation over a pint at a warm pub. He currently serves as an adjunct instructor at Portland Seminary and co-leads the CitySalt Kids’ Ministry along with his wife, Heather.