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MYSTERIES BASED ON THE BIBLE

Perspective from the 19th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

In retirement, I have had a bit of time to reflect on what I’ll call “mysteries” in the Bible.

With this result:  The mysteries, some of which I list below, call on me to rely more than ever on God, who is, as the Bible defines it, “my rock.”

Mr. Google adds this:

“In the New Testament, particularly in the writings of the Apostle Paul, a ‘mystery’ does not mean a puzzle to be solved, but rather a hidden divine secret that was once concealed but has now been revealed, such as:

  • The Mystery of Christ:  Refers to the embodiment of God in human history, reconciling the world to Himself.
  • The Mystery of the Gospel:  The inclusion of all people — Gentiles alongside Jews — into the same spiritual inheritance.
  • The Mystery of God’s Will:  The ultimate cosmic plan to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.”

So, as I thought about this, here is my list of mysteries that have occupied my mind:

  1. God will be always there – or, as the word is used, He is omnipresent.
  • God knows all – or, as the word is used, He is omniscient.
  • God is all powerful – or, as the word is used, He is omnipotent.
  • How can we comprehend what heaven will be like?

This requires two things.  Contemplating what heaven will be like and, then, wonder of wonders, contemplating that we will be there for ALL time, though the use of the word “time” may not apply in this case.

There are hundreds of verses in the Bible describing, up to a point, what heaven will be like.  But we cannot know anything about heaven for sure until we get there, just as I cannot know if I will “behold streets paved with gold” as the Bible says, or whether there will be great golf courses around every bend.

  • How can we comprehend eternity? 

Just contemplate that for a moment.  As humans, we think in terms of periods of time – seconds, hours, days, months, years, decades, etc.

But, with God, time doesn’t matter.  It never ends.  Never!

So, allow these mysteries to accompany your mind for a while and they will confirm a choice you have made to love God.

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