… he made known to us the mystery of his will …
Summary: Life is full of mysteries. Some of them are important to acknowledge. One is the mystery of our existence.
I love a good mystery story, but when it comes to reality, I like to know what is going on. The problem with spiritual matters is that the entire subject is shrouded in mystery. We can’t see it with our physical eyes or touch it with our hands. So how do we know it is there?
Paul writes about this in his letter to the church in Rome. He says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)
Have they?
Have God’s invisible qualities been clearly seen? Paul goes on to describe what happened to the people who “neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him” (Romans 1:21). He tells us that they “exchanged the truth about God for a lie” (Romans 1:25) and then…
…and then they have kids. And they teach their kids the same lies that they believe. And if they are around other kids, they teach those kids the same things too. And some of those kids believe the lie, and I have to wonder if God’s invisible qualities are seen by them. Do they even know there is a mystery?
Since the beginning of the world, the devil has been deceiving mankind. In our modern culture, Satan has excelled at convincing people that they are nothing more than an accident of nature. The absurdity of this idea is monumental, but for some reason, we are monumentally gullible. We ignore the truth and believe the lie.
Only when we understand that we are both visible and invisible, physical and spiritual, do we begin to grasp the mystery Paul is talking about in his letter to the Ephesians. Even when we claim to “believe,” there are pitfalls. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day believed in God, but not enough to obey him. Some academics today claim to be Christian but question the authenticity of the Bible. Some even question the existence of the God they claim to profess.
Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3) Little children are not capable of the kind of mental gymnastics that adults are. Little children are forthright and transparent. (Parents can often tell what a child is thinking just by looking at them and God knows what we are thinking, even without looking at us.)
When we look at life through the eyes of our inner child, we are finally able to “see” the mystery: Life is amazing! How is it that a handful of dust and a bucket of water can combine to form a living being? More than that, how is it we can even think? Creative thought is not logical, nor does it follow any established rule of physics. We truly do exist in two worlds. One is physical, and the other is … something else. We are the mystery!
Application: Help share the truth about the mystery of God’s will with those who have never heard about it.
Food for Thought: How would you explain our invisible nature to someone who was raised by a non-believer?
How would you explain our invisible nature to someone who was raised by a non-believer?
From the heart led by the Holy Spirit. Probably multiple times……… I really don’t know I’m lost most of the time myself and feel like a child trying to explain how the creator of the universe thinks I’m important, loves each of us, and wants a personal relationship with each one of us to a adult.
Actions and how you live your life could be the biggest example to the person that has been blind by this world.
Good thoughts T.
In the Romans passage mentioned, one way we can explain what we cannot see is by what we can see. The creation is general revelation to all people. The creation points to be a Creator. Why is there something rather than nothing. Even the scientific community widely believes everything came from “nothing.” Something or Someone that transcends time, space and matter put time, space and matter into existence. Which is easier to understand, everything came from nothing – or everything came from something? It is certainly not the only way, but one way to try to explain this reality to a non believer.
02-13-2023, How would you explain our invisible nature to someone who was raised by a non-believer?
My short answer is “ We Don;’t. “
John 6:44, John 16:7-13, 1 Corinthians 1:9
Our first priority is to respond to God’s call to each of us, reject the world, our old ways, to live and grow in our salvation through prayer, study, application as we make God’s priorities for our lives, our priorities. We must allow the transformation of our spirits by God, from milk drinkers, to meat eaters to be our number one priority as we grow into the person He has previously determined we are to be. Some are preachers, teachers, greeters, janitors or whatever. Whatever God has determined, do it to the best of our ability.
We are each unique, chosen for a unique ministry which only God fully understands. He will present our ministry, bring people only we can relate to into our lives, and through us, speak the words they need to hear.
Focus on being a good instrument to be used by God, and one day you will begin to hear people ask, “ Why are you different? “ That’s your call, ask them what do they mean and let the Lord take it from there. Believers are so very blessed to be allowed to remain in this world, on call, to share the Good News as directed.
Lol. My short answer is “ We Don;’t. “
Thank you Ron for the answer I didn’t think was an answer.
Hey Tim,
Yep, We let Christ be seen in our lives, we enjoy the assurance of His Salvation, and we don’t need to speak. People have eyes
Blessings to you Brother,
Ron
I like Tim’s comment; that is how I feel too. In my experience with talking with those that don’t believe, I usually find there is some trauma they can’t let go of that prevents them from thinking about God for who He is: a God of love. I’m certainly not smart enough to counsel someone on their trauma, but sharing my “beginnings” with God, and how He has transformed my life at the very least plant a seed.
Today I’m left wondering and pondering about the question and thoughts that might go with it.
I was told once about how a orphan that was living on the streets or poverty even in orphanages their whole lives learned how to survive. Then once they were adopted into a nice family come dinner time they would eat as much as they could even stashing food in their pockets. The loving family would tell them that there will be food again for breakfast lunch and dinner everyday. Never knowing when or where they would find something to eat takes a toll on a person. No matter how many times or how the nice family explained things to the orphan they would still sneak food and stash it for a long time.
If that’s just one affect of a fallen world on a child how about abuse, neglect, and so many other things that happens to a child. Trying to understand two different world that we are living in with two different body’s can be difficult. Then learning right from wrong and unlearning how not to be beaten or survive can’t happen overnight and will be a struggle their whole lives.
How would you explain our invisible nature to someone who was raised by a non-believer?
How would you explain Gods Love, a Perfect Father in Heaven to someone who was raised by a non-believer?
I am touched by all of the comments here today!
Tim – I love how you worked through the topic today. The question is overwhelming and Ron’s LOL answer “we don’t” is a fair response. Most touching, though, was your final comment about the orphan and how deprivation takes its toll on a person. Your words are speaking to me in a personal way as I struggle with some related questions about our faith walk, so … thank you!
Rich – Isn’t it weird how the “scientific community” can believe something as odd as we “came from nothing” and still deny the existence of a Creator???
Ron – Your verse references are spot on. Thank you! “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them…” (John 6:44) is an interesting verse. We still need to have answers for these people though when God draws them to him via us (1 Peter 3:15).
Chris – Sharing our testimony, that is our personal history with God, is a powerful tool for sharing God. Words mean something. When we speak words about God we impact the world around us. The world needs more words about God!
Thank you all!! Great discussion!