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Moonlight and Mystery
Years back, I remembered I watched a news program on TV. A journalist in Madrid, Spain, was among those reporters selected by the Spanish government to interview the American astronaut James Irwin, who was on a European tour after his Apollo 15 mission to the moon. Monroy asked the astronaut, �What did you feel when you stepped out of that capsule and your feet touched the surface of the moon?�
To Monroy’s utter surprise, Irwin replied, �It was one of the most profoundly disillusioning moments of my life.�
Monroy pressed the astronaut: �How could standing on the moon be so disappointing?�
Irwin explained, �All of my life I have been enchanted by the romance and the mystery of the moon. I sang love songs under the moon. I read poems by moonstruck poets. I embraced my lover in the moonlight. I looked up in wonder at the lunar sphere. But that day when I stepped from the capsule onto the lunar surface and reached down at my feet, I came up with nothing but two handfuls of gray dirt. I cannot describe the loss I felt as the romance and mystery were stripped away. There will be no more moon in my sky!�
Monroy observed further, �When we come to the place that we think we comprehend and can explain the Almighty, there will be no more God in our heavens.�
God’s Word not only reveals His endless love and awesome holiness, but also veils His majesty in mystery and paradox that transcend comprehension. He is God, not human!
�My thoughts are not your thoughts,� says the Lord, �neither are your ways my ways.� (Isaiah 55:8)
I think God is also saying, �And you, my children, are not just mortal, either. You will always be stretching beyond your temporary finitude, watching for glimpses and listening for whispers from infinity.�
God has put eternity in our hearts. A part of us lives in worlds beyond, even if we at times find it difficult to stay in touch!
Oh yes! Because both God and humanity are too big for explanation, the Bible conveys far more than information and logical objectives. God speaks to all of our worlds through drama, music, poetry, stories, paradox, and mystery. The Bible teases out nuances that stretch far beyond mere data in ways too wonderful to explain and too sacred to be contrived. Full faith awakens all of our worlds and dances through them, touching us on multiple levels and moving us with profound force. This kind of faith, like a tent pegged from many angles, is much less likely to go flat.
The mystery moves us onward and upward. Until next time…