Following Judah's Lion

Where is the Mystery?

Mystery - a religious truth that one can know only by revelation and cannot fully understand. (Webster)

There are many mysteries in the known universe. The pyramids; gravity; and even how the brain works are all mysteries to the limited capacity of man’s understanding. But before the Industrial Revolution and the Renaissance humans were filled with superstition and even spiritualism. But after enlightenment and the spread of intellectual knowledge, much of the world moved away from such things and began to embrace a more scientific and rational approach to creation and the meaning of life.
For the most part religion, and specifically Christianity, was considered unintellectual and unsophisticated and just a residual leftover from a more unenlightened time. And many strains of Christianity added to that perception by adopting a harsh, judgmental, and moral crusade brand of Christianity. They knew all the answers morally, politically, and spiritually. And basically they operated with a throwback to the Great Crusades mentality with redemption only part of a doctrinal creed and not a vibrant and tangible manifestation in the lives of those who claim to follow Jesus.
Perhaps we can see the error of our ways, and without altering the truth of redemption found exclusively through faith in Jesus the Christ, we can adopt a more Christ-like existence that is far more engaed with sinners. Perhaps we can began to repair the breach the church has constructed with sinners by its long standing tradition of self righteousness and self serving aloofness. And without participating in their sin, perhaps we might be willing to embrace sinners, even the most demonstrative among us, with a love that is so deep and vulnerable that it opens itself up to speculation of compromise and even the condoning of sin.
Jesus and His redemption is a great and wonderful mystery. It spans the ages and eclipses the understandings of the greatest minds and yet bows to children. It is the mystery that includes many components like violence, sin, blood, death, resurrection, and the Incarnation itself. Its story is a child’s fairytale but is also the eternal absolute of all truth itself. It is much more profound than a “do this - don’t do that” approach, and living in that mystery demands the shredding of the past and the continuing metamorphosis of His life. In fact, living in the mystery called Jesus is a daily walk of faith and humility that seeks sinners and is most comfortable when in the company of those who need redemption.
Away with all our rules and regulations that are carnal constructs designed to insulate us from contact with sinners who need the light of the mystery we claim lives within us. And away with all our moral and political campaigns that do nothing but separate us from sinners and run to and fro attempting to fix this leak and that. And the western church has become a giant money changing hole that is designed as stations of self gratification and spiritual elitism. So we can continue to live without mystery, and behave with the western redundancy that mirrors our unbelieving neighbors. A dog, a lawn, a picket fence, and a retirement plan. So we march or trudge on, imprisoned by the pragmatic and void of the mystery.

Or perhaps we can be like Jesus.

But perhaps we will have to research that very issue once again and see what He really said and did.

Or perhaps we can just do what we have always done -

live with no reason for others to suspect a mystery.