 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
|
Secure,
but Mystified Today's
Treasure: Something in all of us loves a relationship that we can find to be both secure and mysterious. Are you with me here? Let me give you a personal example.
My relationship with Keith is my most personal earthly relationship. I love knowing that I have security—full assurance—in my relationship with my husband. I believe I can tell you, after twenty-five years of marriage, that I know the man.
I remember a time when a friend of mine saw my husband having lunch with another woman. She saw that Keith was fairly affectionate to her, putting his arm around her as they walked out of the restaurant.
The sight troubled my friend. But when I found out that he had been seen with another woman, I said, "I want to tell you something. I don't know what the explanation is, but I can tell you right now, it isn't what you're thinking."
How fun it was for me when Keith came in after that and said, "You know I had lunch with Tina the other day, and we had the neatest time together." Tina is my husband's little sister.
Now I'm not telling you that something bad could not happen to my marriage. However, at that particular point in our marriage, I just felt I had an assurance. For Keith to cheat on me would be so out of character for him. I have assurance there.
I don't know how in the world I could be this blessed, but even on difficult days I do not think I have ever lived a day of my married life that my husband has not told me at least once, and maybe two or three times, how much he loves me. He will pick up the phone in the course of a very busy day and make sure I know that, even if he only has fifteen seconds, and then hangs up the phone without saying goodbye. I know at this point that I have security in my relationship with my husband.
Yet, not too long ago, I was sitting in the company of some of our friends, and my husband began telling them a story. I watched his almost childlike face. He was so animated when he told about a fish fry he had given for his fraternity in college. We had gone to the same college; that's where we fell in love. Keith said, "I told them all that I was going to have a big fish fry. We'd have all the fish we could eat." But he said he ran out of time. So he went to the federal game reserve on that campus. A game reserve that was well guarded. He fished those fish right out of the federal reserve. Now I realize that was illegal, but it was twenty-five years ago and fortunately the statute of limitations has expired. I want to tell you something. I was just watching Keith tell that story, and I had never heard it before. I just fell in love with him all over again. When we got in the car to drive home, I said, "You have never told me that!" You know what thrilled me? I am still discovering things about my man. I have security in him, but if I had security and no mystery, that's no fun. Now if all I had was mystery, where would the security be? But in my husband, for right now, I have both security and mystery. That's what the Word of God tells us we have in Christ. Paul says in Colossians 2:2-3, "My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the full mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." He referred to Christ being the revealed mystery of God. I want you to consider two words for knowing or knowledge in those verses. Verse 2 says, "that they may know...Christ." The word know comes from a wonderful word in the Greek language, epiginostos. It means a recognition of who Christ is. It designates a relationship with Christ based on participation on the part of the learner. It defines somewhat of a security of relationship. Paul is saying, "I want them to be secure, to have full assurance, in that relationship." Now let me point you to the second word for knowledge. It appears in Colossians 2:3. "In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." This word for knowledge has an entirely different meaning. It is a word that means present and fragmentary knowledge. Now hang with me a second because I think this will thrill you. What Paul is saying is that God is the fullness of all security and mystery. He meets all our emotional needs as well as our mental needs. Don't you love that? He said, "You have knowledge with security, with full assurance, in relationship with who I am. You also have a constant mystery as I will give you these little fragments of knowledge one at a time to open your eyes to My greatness." We will never learn it all while we're here. As much as we will seek Him, when we see Him, we will be stunned by His greatness. Lord Jesus, I am so grateful that You have provided for my spiritual and mental needs. Because of Your greatness, Your love and Your mercy, I lack no good thing. All that I need is found in You. Hallelujah! Reveal more of Your mystery to me. I praise You because you will never run out of wonderful things to show me of Yourself. In Your name I pray, Amen. Adapted from Jesus the One and Only, by Beth Moore, pages 173-175. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2002. Used by permission. |