Sunday Morning's Reflection

Worship 3, Oil pastel on paper

Another in my abstract series on worship. This one speaks to me of mystery... there is deep mystery in who God is. I've been working through the book of Exodus for the last few months and buried within the story of the nation of Israel's departure from Egypt, is the revelation of who God would be to them; and who the unchanging God is to us. He is a God who always made a way for them, even when backed into impossible corners. He led them gently and provided for them abundantly through a desert devoid of all that they needed to live. And, he revealed himself to be a dependable God, a forgiving God, a personal God ... who wanted the best for them. Not necessarily what they thought was best, but what he knew was best. He's a "Big Picture" God, without being an uncaring God for small concerns. All of this looks to us quite a lot like mystery sometimes. It especially looks like mystery to me, when nothing makes sense in life, and I'm tempted to forget that He is there, he is not passive, and he is making a way.

I was reminded of this as I sat at a memorial service yesterday for a wonderful woman who (it seems to me) died much too early in life. Hers was a life well lived, a life that influenced and touched countless people for good, a life lived large, a life given to Christ. I was reminded again, that of all the important things in life that matter in a lasting way, the most important is the question we all have or will face ~ Who is Jesus Christ, and what will I do with him? God is a mysterious God, but only because we cannot fully understand. He is also a good God, dependable, loving, and trustworthy. Isaiah says he's "written each of our names on his hand"~ that's very personal. I think, as I go deeper into the mystery, I learn that its good that we cannot get to the bottom of who God is! Anything less would be too small.