The Mystery of 2023

 

Last post of the year. It is just a post and it is just a day... right?

For the record, this was a really good year for jayopsis.com and winning edges youtube. I also had a fun time doing a podcast for the very first time and enjoyed it... though it was exhaustive to do during a tough football season.

For the record, this blog had over 30,000 page views in 2022. This has pushed the all time views to  434,577. My favorite analytics reports is to see all of the countries listed by visitors this year.

The top post in 2022 was the tribute to Aaron Martens, who we lost in Nov. 2021 but I didn't get to post it until until Feb 2022 after attending a beautiful and memorable life celebration event.

Tribute to Aaron Martens- 2022

So 2022 is a wrap. It was a TOUGH year in a lot of ways and I went into Christmas break pretty beat up and down. The Lord was gracious to take the time to give me some perspective and healing and I will begin 2023 in a good frame of mind.

So let's play a little mind exercise on this last day of 2022.

What happens when you hear a story that doesn't quite add up?

Example: Let's say you hear that someone you know died tragically in a car wreck and just a day later you get news that your friend died of a heart attack? 

Immediately in your mind, you want to reconcile to discrepancy of the two accounts. 

This one is resolved easily when you realize that it was a heart attack that caused the wreck.

But what makes us wrestle with the contradiction? 

Within the laws of logic, this is referred to as the Law of Non-Contradiction and has a long history of analysis and debate inside philosophy.

These realities, just beyond the reach of 'science' should help us open to the existence of God and curious to the genesis of these realities... love, law, logic, liberty, language are harder to explain without a higher being in my opinion, but it looks like there are fewer humans in our midst who are vulnerable to those thoughts.

It gets concerning. As we fall under the seduction of science, technology, and mass communication distractions, we get pretty skeptical of mystery and have almost no self-suspicion. Pride insulates us from discovery.

But God is a God of secrecy and mystery. His very nature demands it. Indeed the concept of "God" requires transcendence. If you can explain everything about God... then it is just a god in your own image.

Consider the Bible:

“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29:29 ESV)

[9] And he said, “Go, and say to this people:
“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
[10] Make the heart of this people dull,
and their ears heavy,
and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.” (Isaiah 6:9–10 ESV)

[10] Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” [11] And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. [12] For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. [13] This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. [14] Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:


“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.” (Matthew 13:10–14 ESV)

In our world, this cuts against our "need to know" in a way that provokes anger. As information floods like a tsunami, we expect immediate answers as if it is an inalienable right.

A lot of practicing atheists in our world today are pretty much angry for God for being God. They don't think he is there and are mad about it!

When the Bible says, "fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 9:10)" it begs us to begin in humility.

James diagnoses our problem in just 1 passage:

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? [2] You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. [3] You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. [4] You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. [5] Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? [6] But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” [7] Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. [9] Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. [10] Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (James 4:1–10 ESV)

If I can propose a goal for all of us in 2023, it would be to stop worrying about the secrets and start paying closer attention to the revelation.

We have an answer to a GREAT MYSTERY:

[25] of which I (Paul) became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, [26] the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. [27] To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. [28] Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. [29] For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. (Colossians 1:25–29 ESV)

Just in the Scripture I have placed in this post, there is more than enough challenges for 2023.

Here are just a few for me:

 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions

 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. [9] Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

So to close out 2022... no clue what the future holds but I do know who holds the future.

Let's toil together in 2023!