Great is the Mystery...

In 1st Timothy chapter 3 and throughout his writings, Paul refers to the ways of God in terms of a "mystery":
16And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.

Simple, yet complex; revealed, yet mysterious - that is the nature of the gospel message.   Simply put, God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for our sins.   But, God wants us to know Him, to know His ways, to commune with Him, and to discover more and more about His nature and His presence.   The idea of an indwelling Spirit is not one that is comprehended by natural human understanding - it takes a measure of the Holy Spirit in order to even begin to understand who God is and how He operates.   And, if we think we know Him completely, then we are presumptuously denying ourselves the opportunity to experience the discover of our great God, who is infinite in wisdom and great in power and love.  Oh, God, we want to know You...

In Colossians chapter 1, the apostle Paul makes reference to the mystery of the gospel...even though the plan of salvation is very simple, to know and discover the ways of God is like investigating a mystery, so that we may grow in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord:
(26) I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,26the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.27To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.28Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.29To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.
Finally, after all these years, we now know that Area 51 is real.  Actually, I guess that people have known it's there, but it has never been named - until this week.  A National Geographic story featured a Q&A session with  Annie Jacobsen, an investigative journalist and the author of Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base.

She said that the massive 400-page document that was declassified on Thursday really contains very little new information.  Only one page out of the 400 pages is new information. The rest of the report has been declassified for years. The new part is a map that says Area 51 on it.  She said, "That really is news—what it means is that a jealously guarded secret—the existence of an area called Area 51, which the government refused to acknowledge the existence of—actually exists."

Jacobsen says that, "What's interesting is that these incredible spy programs happened out there. The CIA has been declassifying documents about Area 51 since the 1990s, but they have always been told or directed not to reveal the name."   When asked why she thought that was the case, she said, "It is still a mystery. I maintain that the Atomic Energy Commission was doing programs out there that required a much higher level of security clearance and those programs had a much higher degree of classification."

Regarding alien spaceships being housed at Area 51, she said that, "A lot of it was because of the U-2 planes program that started out of Area 51 in 1955. The U-2 planes were used extensively by the U.S. during the Cold War for reconnaissance missions. They flew at an altitude of 60,000 feet (18 meters)—considerably higher than any other plane in existence at the time. As soon as test flights began, people wrote letters to their congressmen and to their local mayors saying, 'I saw a UFO.' But what they saw was the U-2 spy plane."
But, I am sure that the mysteries will remain and there will be plenty of speculation about what is really going on inside this facility known as Area 51.   There is just something about mystery, about intrigue, that can stimulate our thinking and heighten our interest.   Perhaps that's why whodunit movies, television programs, and books are so popular.
So, I think it's significant that Paul refers to the "mystery" of godliness, a mystery that was hidden and now revealed to the saints.   A mystery, according to Colossians 1, that is full of the riches of God's glory.   But, the knowledge only comes as we look for it, as we search diligently, as we allow the Lord to reveal His truth through us by His Word.   How can a mere human come to know God?   It is through the acceptance of Jesus as our Savior, receiving His love and responding in devotion to Him.   In our desire to know more and to grow deeper, we discover more about Him and walk in true discipleship, learning what it means to follow Christ and serve the living God.