The Mystery of God's Presence

 

For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, show the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. (Ephesians 3:1-5 ESV).

 

Today we begin a walk through the “mysterious things” of God. I have often remarked that life can be “magical” without using the word “magic.” There is great mystery in the spiritual realm, there is no magic. There are miracles without thinking of things in terms of magic. I know I am splitting hairs a bit as I make such a distinction; however, it is important to make such a distinction to prevent us from believing the lie of “luck” or “karma.” God is completely in control of everything in life. That is especially good news. He can be depended upon to work all things for our good. No one or no thing can make that claim.

 

The apostle Paul is introducing us to this mystery in Ephesians. We are invited to open a mystery package and peer inside to discover what God is sharing with us. There is more for us to know, and the wonder and mystery being offered to all people points to a new season in the great story of God’s love for the world. God’s plan includes everyone. God’s inheritance is for all who believe.

 

In this letter we discover that we are adopted, chosen, and called to serve shoulder to shoulder with all other followers of Jesus. We discover what it means to be saved by grace, and we are no longer strangers to God’s presence or plan. As we look more into the mystery of God, we will see how much is revealed to us for our lives. This is the encouragement we need to take our journey in stride.