The mystery of worshipping God

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in
the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles,
believed on in the world, received up into glory. -1 Timothy 3:16

There's A LOT of controversy about how to worship God, but without controversy is the FACT that the right worship of God (that's what the original Greek word translated godliness means here) is a great mystery!

Paul gives us a little glimpse into that great mystery:

• God was manifest in the flesh
• Justified in the Spirit
• Seen of angels
• Preached unto the Gentiles (non-Jews)
• Believed on in the world
• And received up into glory

Recently I read the book The Shack. I was stirred. The book troubled me in some ways and comforted me in others. More than anything it brought to my awareness again how thirsty I am to know my Creator and Savior and to rightly worship Him although doing so is a great mystery!

I read this morning an article about some of the controversy that has come out of The Shack. Reading "Is The Shack heresy?" reminded me of something else I read recently.

John D. Garr wrote, "The Jewish Messiah- Christianity's Only Foundation" in the May/June 2008 issue of Jewish Voice Today. In it he reviews the history of Christianity and reminds us Christians of something very important: Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, and without this Jewish Messiah there is no church. And without God's Son there is no forgiveness and eternal life. But one part of the article particularly shook me. He says:

"The sages knew that there are many things about the infinite God that
can never be fully understood by finite man, regardless as to man's
self-inflated estimation of his intellect and perception. That is why
they were (and are) able to hold various seemingly contradictory concepts in
dynamic tension, underscoring the truths in each but leaving their final
outworking to the providence of an omniscient God. While men in their
rational analyses may think that they have all the details of the nature of God
and Christ completely figured out, it is highly likely that there is much more
to be learned than is already understood and that in the final analysis
Christian leaders of the past and present may find themselves as woefully
misinformed as their Jewish counterparts over who Jesus lamented, "...you knew
not the time of your visitation" (Luke 19:44). ***Taken from Jewish Voice Today May/June 2008 pg.14; www.JewishVoiceToday.org***

I've tended to be a person who tries to analyze and figure out the nature of God and Christ. But the more I read God's word and cry out to the One I DON'T understand, the more God turns my world upside-down and throws off all my understanding and in exchange gives me peace in knowing (without explanation) that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God and He loves me!

"Is--is he a man?" asked Lucy.
"Aslan a man!" said Mr.
Beaver sternly. "Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the
son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of
Beasts? Aslan is a lion--the Lion, the great Lion."
"Ooh!" said Susan, "I'd
thought he was a man. Is he--quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about
meeting a lion."
"That you will, dearie, and no mistake,' said Mrs. Beaver,
'if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking,
they're either braver than most or else just silly."
"Then he isn't safe?"
said Lucy.
"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells
you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's
the King I tell you." (From the movie The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe)