God’s plan to reconcile mankind to Himself by sending His Son, Jesus, was unthinkable, unfathomable, and unexpected-despite the prophecies. We can look at the prophecies in the Old Testament now and put the dots together and see how Jesus fulfilled them. But in their time, taken individually, no man would be able to see clearly that God was going to reconcile mankind to Himself through a baby that was 100% man and 100% God.
When we put the pieces together, as I said, yes, we can see these prophecies of the Messiah, but the earth at the time of Christ’s birth was not waiting in anticipation knowing the details as we see it now. (More on the prophecies of Christ in the Old Testament HERE)
As I was meditating on God’s plan to reconcile the world to Himself, I imagined this infant wrapped in a cloak, like something out of Star Wars, coming down from the sky. Everyone knows something incredible is happening, but they don’t know “this” is “that”. And have you ever thought about the really lucky ones whom God spoke to and clued in? They were a very small few, remember that. The majority of the people at that time had no clue that the Son of God was among them and yet this was the moment they had been waiting for.
In my meditation, what I was getting at, or where I started that I am trying to unfold, is that God the Father purposely did not tell the prophets exact details. The Father allowed there to be significant mystery around the first coming of Jesus, but why?
The Wisdom of God Hidden in Mystery
“But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
God the Father in His infinite wisdom determined that it would be best for His purposes, the purposes of the reconciliation of mankind to Himself, that man not be clued in. He would send His Son through a virgin in the middle of nowhere Israel, to be born among a group of nobody’s.
This was His best plan. The most fragile and precious gift God could give being delivered to a dark and violent world without proper instructions. I need to pause here for a second…
You know when you buy something from IKEA that you have to put together yourself? Let’s just say, forgive me for the poor analogy, that God gave us these instructions. The kind with the cartoon man looking confused with a question mark above his thought bubble… you get the picture. He gave us pieces, but it’s not spelled out in detail… why? Could it be that He purposely left details out for our own good?
For some reason, while meditating on this, the picture to your right was exactly what I saw. God wants our participation in figuring things out, just like the Swedes 😆.
But on a serious note, this is part of “free will”. We choose to work with God, our desire for Him gets us involved in the great treasure hunt. Perhaps those experiencing the mystery unfolding were desiring the God in a different way.
You Can’t Handle the Truth
Another example that comes to mind is the scene where Jesus is sitting around the table with His disciples in John 16:12- one of my favorite verses:
“There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now.”
This is painful yet true, that God really wants to tell us things, but for one reason or another, we just aren’t ready or able to hear it.
Could it be that God doesn’t speak for a good reason? I have been thinking about why God gives us clues rather than just telling us things straight up. He is God Almighty after all, He could just speak audibly to us in plain English if He wanted. But He tenderly touches our hearts, gives us dreams and words in part. He gives us winks, like a trail of breadcrumbs to follow. He entices us and gets us involved in a treasure hunt for the knowledge of God.
I have often considered that these could be to keep us getting closer to Him while preparing us for the things He has for us. It could also be to engage us and keep us going the right way. I see the many benefits of information being hidden from myself, as painful as it seems.
trusting and being trusted
At times I feel I am inwardly kicking and screaming and throwing a fit that God is not speaking or moving right in front of me. But I have come to understand that not only is He always working on my behalf, but He truly is training my “trust muscles”. What’s more- TRUST is a very powerful weapon!
“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. ”
God is not hiding from us to torture us or to tempt us. He sees all things, the past and the future, and in light of eternity He has done the calculations and determined what is best for us to be apprised of and ignorant of.
Oh when I think about some of the things I have done and the ‘blind faith’ that was required- God gives us just enough information to get us to move in the right direction, equally He balances that with not too much to cause us to freeze out of fear.
When I consider that the Lord actually trusts me with ANY amount of information- well, this knowledge is too great for me. I am truly humbled. After all, what is man that God should be mindful of him? A humbling reflection today.