On a regular basis I am in one of the local public libraries. As I walk through the stacks of books, I find a large section of mystery novels and stories. Judging by the number of books in that section, there are many people who like mysteries. In most areas of our lives mystery is acceptable. We recognize that we ultimately won't be able to know everything.

Even with that knowledge we, I will focus on Westerners, have a desire to define and codify everything we can. Much like Paul encountered in Athens, we even codify those things we do not know as they had a shrine to the unknown god. There is great desire to get the details all together. When reading one of those mysteries, we would not be happy if by the end of the book all the questions were not answered. This understanding has made its way into our journey with God.

There is an expectation that all the things of God can be explained. It is thought that each Bible passage should be able to be explained with certainty. That each work of God would be explainable. The reality is there is much mystery in our journey with God. Not because God is withholding information. It is because we have a limited ability to understand.

I wonder what would happen if we said I don't know more. What would happen if instead of proclamations of truth, we went of mystery paths to discover what God is teaching?