I love a good mystery story – the complex characters, the suspense, the clues. I find myself immediately drawn into the search for the truth, trying to anticipate the culprit and make connections as I flip each page. The most satisfying part of reading any mystery story is arriving at the climax. At last, the pieces have all fallen into place, justice has been served and I, hopefully, have been surprised by one or two connections that I hadn’t seen as I followed the plot. 

I think it is in our very nature to enjoy mystery, because we all have a tendency towards curiosity, wonder and a desire to understand. If you have ever spent any amount of time with children, you know that this is true. Few things are more fascinating than watching a baby discover their toes or a child decode and read their first few words. We want to know the answers to life’s big questions, and if we are honest, we usually want to find the answers ourselves. 

This is the way it has been since the very beginning. Consider Eve in the Garden of Eden. Why did she even engage with the snake who began talking to her on that fateful day? Simply put, she was curious. Eve wanted to know more about this mysterious alternate reality that the snake was expertly weaving. One in which God did not want her good. One in which she could actually know all the answers to life’s mysteries herself. 

This pattern of humanity litters the pages of scripture. Over and over again, mankind’s desire to know and understand the world without turning to the omniscient God leads to suffering, brokenness and destruction. 

Two situations stand out to me, in particular. The first is the story of  a young man. He engages in an incredibly honest conversation with Jesus in Matthew 19: 16-22. This young man had it all – money, power and youth. And yet, he was being nagged by one thing. He had one question that he still needed answered. How do I get eternal life? This seems like a pretty fundamental question. Indeed, it is one that many have asked themselves throughout history. From the way he talks with Jesus, it is clear that his question for Jesus is actually slightly different. What he actually wants to ask Jesus is: Have I done enough to get myself into heaven? Are you dazzled by me, Jesus? 

The answer that Jesus gives is not what this young man was expecting, and it did not give him the answer that he wanted to hear. Jesus’ immediate response is that this young man does not know what is good. His perspective is backwards. He was asking Jesus: Is God dazzled by me and my accomplishments? Instead, Jesus said he should be confessing God, I can’t comprehend how great you are! What this man failed to see was the mysterious and miraculous goodness of God, because he wanted to be able to solve the great mystery of reconciliation between God and man himself. If he had but looked up, he would have seen that all his hard work was as nothing before the surpassing glory of God. 

The disciples understood the mystery though, and they asked the right question. After the young man left, looking downcast, they turned to Jesus in astonishment and asked, Who then can be saved? And Jesus tells them the answer, the very answer this young man had also been seeking. With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. God has and IS the answer that we need. We can bring to him all of our questions, curiosities and mysteries that are too much for our feeble minds to understand, and he will provide us with the truths that we need to hear. 

The second story brings us all the way back to the story of King Solomon. Although the Bible is not shy to talk about Solomon’s flaws, it also paints a very clear picture of Solomon as a type of Jesus Christ. Consider the description of King Solomon’s interaction with the queen of Sheba. We read that the queen of Sheba, a woman of great power and wealth (not unlike the young man who came to see Jesus), came to Solomon. Unlike the young man, she was not too proud to bring her questions to the feet of this wise and renowned king. In 1 Kings 10 we read that the queen asked Solomon all the questions that were on her mind, and Solomon was able to answer them all. She also saw the abundance of his household, and was amazed. Her response to Solomon’s ability to answer the mysteries of life that had bewildered her, and the bounty of his table was awe. We read that she was left breathless. 

What do we do with the mysteries and questions in our own lives? Are we more like the young man, who thought that, in and of his own greatness, he could surely figure things out alone? Or do we, like the queen of Sheba, stand in awe, breathless, when we consider that He has and is the answer to our greatest question and deepest need. Despite His incomprehensible grandeur, our God came to earth to do what was impossible for sinners. He reconciled us to Himself, something we could never accomplish in and of our own sheer will. And this great God, the King of Kings, now sits on his heavenly throne and invites us to share in the opulent feast at His table for all eternity.