Do You Want To Know A Secret?

We love secrets. 

When we are let in on a secret it makes us feel as though we are the "in" crowd.  It doesn't seem to really matter if the secret is important, or even if the people that are telling us the secret care about us or not, it's just the power of the secret itself saying to us "somebody doesn't know this, so I am 'in' and they are 'out'."

If you think about it, secrets can be brutal things--a form of elitism pandering to shallow egos.  And yet, we seem to gather around them like moths to a flame.

When we deal in secrets we always seem to hurt somebody by not allowing others to join, after all, if everyone knew it then it wouldn't be a secret any more would it!  But, as per usual, God does things differently than we do.  When He is working in the world of secrets He actually does want everyone to know, and eagerly invites all people to be "in".

In Colossians 2:2 Paul explains what this secret looks like:  "I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally.  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 mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

There is a mystery that many do not know:  it is a secret that has been hidden from people for ages and still is hidden even though it has been proclaimed for centuries.  Even people who profess to know this secret sometimes don't really know it.  This secret is knowable but to fully define it escapes the keenest mind; you can be introduced to this secret but knowing it requires humility and time to even begin to grasp it; this secret has the power to open up or withhold blessing in your future.  It is the most enduring mystery of all time.

The thing that makes this secret so unique is that it is not a "thing" at all, but a person--the person of Jesus!  The whole of humanity is being invited to be the 'in' crowd by getting to know this man who is the mystery of the ages.  I love that even when we know him, he retains the right to remain somewhat mysterious.  This is true of any real-life mystery, it is three dimensional, it has width, and length and depth.  At any time, what is being presented to me for my knowing has a back that is hidden from my view.  Just like a person whose front is seen, and whose back is unseen at the same time--real truth is known and unknown simultaneously.

Hope is found in the mystery of Jesus who presents himself to us as the answer we have been looking for--for everything.  This is true because we are told that "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" are found in him and him alone.  All humanity is being invited to know this secret, to know this man who can change everything. 

Do you want to know a secret?

BT