God's Mystery

Isaiah 40:28

New International Version (NIV)

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

 

Lately, although some may think I'm too old for this, I've been reading a book series called The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. The irony about these books is that they are intended as childrens' literature, but quite frankly, they are written with so much symbolism; most children are too young to understand it all themselves. One of the strongest symbols in the entire series is a lion named Aslan.

At the very end of the book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Aslan appears to Lucy and Edmund (two of the main characters) as a lamb. The lamb feeds the children a full meal of fish and talks to the children about "Aslan's country," for although Aslan watches over Narnia (and all of the other countries and worlds), he is not from there. As he talks with them, he transforms into his lion shape so that the children can recognize him as Aslan. When the children ask Aslan if he will tell them how to get into his country from our world, he says:

"I shall be telling you all the time, but I will not tell you how long or short the way will be; only that it lies across a river. But do not fear that, for I am the great Bridge Builder."

Wow! I'm not even going to try to get into all of the symbolism on that little page, because there's just too much there to cover in one blog entry. I will point out, however, that Aslan is symbolic of Jesus; he not only appears as a lamb, feeding the hungry with fish, but he also mentions that he is "the great Bridge Builder." He has made a way for us to get to "Aslan's country," or the place that we call heaven.

More important than what Aslan says, however, is what Aslan doesn't say. Throughout the entire series, those who encounter Aslan get to know pieces about him and his character, but there are still always questions remaining. The same way goes for God. In Isaiah 40:28, we learn (or are reminded) that our Lord is everlasting, doesn't grow tired or weary, and created the ends of the earth. Nonetheless, we are also told that no one can fathom his understanding; there are aspects of God that we cannot hope to comprehend at this point. He leaves us so many mysteries -- some meant to be discovered and others not meant for us to know.

The fact that he only gives us some information, however, amplifies the importance of said information. Since he leaves some questions answered, we can infer that the questions he does answer are of great importance to us. The things he tells us about himself are things we need to know. Here is a very short list I found on Pinterest:

There's so much more than just this little list though. He loves justice (Isaiah 61:8); He is to be feared (Acts 10:34-35); He is the rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, shield, stronghold, and horn of salvation (Psalm 18:2). I think that sometimes people struggle with taking it all in; we want God to make complete and total sense to us, and thus be either something to fear OR something to love. We cannot fully comprehend that God is complex, and doesn't fit into any type of stereotype we build for him.

The best way to learn about God's character is to read about it in the book that He breathed. Flip through the book of Psalms and learn about how His power and love. Glance through the books of the prophets and see God's idea of "tough love." Pick up the New Testament and hear about His mercy and compassion. How can you give God the praise He truly deserves if you don't know who He is or why you're praising Him?

Therefore, get to know your Father's character so that you can know why He is so praiseworthy; trust that some mysteries God can handle without us knowing every aspect of them.

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