Entering Into Mysteries

For many people, Christianity is just a religion about rules. In this view, many picture God as a Judge always just watching, ready to punish anyone who steps out of line. Others focus on rituals. Special services we should attend. Special ways we should act on special occasions.

But Paul wanted his readers to realize that God offered something much deeper. A different dimension of life. His assignment was “to make the word of God fully known.” That God offered them the possibility of entering into a “mystery.”

The Greek word here indicates something hidden or secret, and not obvious. Paul wanted the Colossians to realize that they were not changed by obeying rules or their diet. They were changed by Christ, living in and through us. How this mystery was “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Not a religion but a relationship.

This mystery is beyond our expectations or even our comprehension. It clearly was mysterious, and hard to explain. Paul had experienced this dimension for himself. He had gone beyond the commonplace and entered into the extraordinary. He had experienced the supernatural. He knew that it was real and longed that other believers would experience this dimension for themselves.

These truths remain essential today. God doesn’t just offer a way for us to be better people. He didn’t just provide a list of rules for us to follow. He offers the potential of a transformed life. To understand mysteries and think differently. To have different expectations. To go beyond the average and enter the extraordinary. To change our very nature.

Are you willing to go deeper? To experience more of the mysteries of God?