Mysterious Earth

I attended a conference some weeks ago. I’d been on business that morning, and turned up half way through in a suit and tie, which made me stand out like a sore thumb. Many of the men had long hair tied up in pony tails, long beards and black t-shirts or woollen tank-tops. The womenfolk had similar styles, less the beards, and the stalls around the hall sold crystals, balms and books covering such wide ranging topics as aliens, crop circles and the Temple of Solomon. This was the 2019 Mysterious Earth Conference. I was possibly the only Christian present, but I, like them, believe this earth of ours is mysterious and intriguing. My interest was in the stone circles and ancient monuments that dot our countryside, those silent cries made by previous generations, shouted into the winds of posterity. Deep down, we all know that there is a spiritual dimension to the cosmos. That’s why atheistic scientists are desperately searching for alien life and my fellow conference-goers are so interested in mysterious shapes left in fields of corn. Jesus, however, tells His followers: 

 “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God“.

The greatest mystery of all is how a righteous God can reconcile Himself to the vile sinners whom He loves. He does this through a wooden cross upon which He Himself was fastened, the Creator bearing the just punishment of His creatures’ crimes:

Great is the mystery of godliness, 

Great is the work of God’s own holiness; 

It moves my soul, and causes me to long 

For greater joys than to the earth belong!

 

O let the praises of my heart be Thine, 

For Christ has died that I may call him mine, 

That I may sing with those who dwell above, 

Adoring, praising Jesus, King of love. 

 

(William Vernon Higham, born 1926)

 

Job 11: “Can you search out the deep things of God?

Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?

8 They are higher than heaven—what can you do?

Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?

9 Their measure is longer than the earth

And broader than the sea.

10 “If He passes by, imprisons, and gathers to judgment,

Then who can hinder Him?

11 For He knows deceitful men;

He sees wickedness also.

Will He not then consider it?

12 For an empty-headed man will be wise,

When a wild donkey’s colt is born a man.

 

Crop circles are interesting, stone circles fascinating. But the Mystery of Godliness is the only great conundrum to which one’s life might be dedicated.

Image by Simons41 from Pixabay