The ancient church father Augustine once said, "The Bible is shallow
enough for a child not to drown, yet deep enough for an elephant to
swim." It makes sense, doesn"t it? God"s Word and the mystery of Christ
hidden (revealed?) therein is shallow enough for
a child to wade into, yet deep enough that we'll never fully be able to search out the great depth of God's love.
Even infants can and do believe in Jesus as their Savior from sin. Small
children can confess that "Jesus died for me." At the same time, the
most learned and respected theologians of God's Word will tell you that
in all their years of study, they've only begun
to scratch the surface of God's grace and mercy. The solution to the
mystery of God is incredibly simple and complex at the same time: Christ
crucified for you.
One downside to a good mystery is that once it's been solved, it's over.
When the book, movie, or series ends, there's no more mystery. You will
never be that shocked, thrilled, or surprised by that twist ending
again. The mystery is over. Not so with the Word
of God. The Mystery of God is indeed solved in Christ. But like the
ocean, the more we study this mystery, the more we plumb the wondrous
depths of God's Word and discover how deep and wide His love is for us,
we can't help but to be continuously shocked,
thrilled, and surprised at what we find.
This is especially true when we pore over that portion of Jesus'
redeeming work emphasized in each of the Gospels -- and which we
consider anew each Lenten season, the Passion History. No wonder most
Lutheran churches have extra services in these weeks before
Good Friday and Easter.
And the story isn't over. Not this Lenten season. Not this side of
heaven. With our human limitations, we'll never fully grasp the
abundance of God's love for us in Christ. "For now we see in a mirror
dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I
shall know fully, even as I have been fully known" (1 Corinthians
13:12). What a thing to look forward to! I don’t know about you, but I
can't wait to find out in full all there is to know about our loving
God!
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