Mystery of the Gospel
“He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.” – Matthew 13:11
“He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.” – Matthew 13:11
One day, as I pulled an armload of clothes out of the dryer, something odd captured my attention. Clinging tenaciously to a synthetic garment was a length of bright red yarn!
It came to mind that I had used some red yarn to bind a large object a few weeks earlier, but how on earth did this piece find its way into the laundry? I decided that I would never know, and it really did not matter anyway.
In our familiar earthly surroundings, we think of “mysteries” as unanswered questions or events we cannot understand. Jesus spoke of a different kind of mystery. It is the kind listed first in Webster’s Dictionary, meaning “a religious truth that man can know by revelation alone and cannot fully understand.”
It is true that God’s holy nature and power are beyond human comprehension, yet He is pleased to reveal Himself to hearts that hunger for Him. The Gospel is not a mystery to be ignored or deemed unimportant, as was the mystery of the red yarn. This is something to be searched out for deeper understanding, and anyone is capable of doing so. What a precious thing it is to recognize the call of God and respond to it honestly!
Jesus told His disciples that it was given to them to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. God had opened their hearts, enabling them to grasp what the Gospel was all about. It would change their lives forever! Others who heard the parables of Jesus missed their significance completely. It went right over their heads because they were unable, or unwilling, to apply His words to their own lives.
Aren’t we thankful for God’s Spirit who reveals the truth to our hearts, daily pointing us in the right direction? May we always be sensitive to His voice so that we may understand the mysteries of the Gospel, and be counted among the faithful!