The Greatest Mystery

In a world brim full and overflowing with holy mystery, the greatest mystery is the one which transforms the human heart and enables the God given soul to once again come home.  Like other holy mysteries this one remained hidden for such a long time before being seen and, unfortunately, for many people it still remains something unseen and dismissed into the realm of something which does not really exist.  In the final words of Romans we hear the Apostle speaking, "Now to God who is able to strengthen you...according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed..."And then in still another letter he wrote, "...the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations has now been revealed to His saints..."  (Colossians 1:26)    

What goes without saying is that the great mystery is the mystery made incarnate through Jesus Christ.  And while there is great mystery within our attempts to understand what God did through Christ, an even greater mystery is found within the question framed by "Why?"   Why would the Son of God come to this earth, be born in a place like Bethlehem, live in this world, and die on a hill filled with rejection, scorn, pain, and ridicule?  And if the gospel is true and there is no reason to think otherwise, He came out of His love for the likes of you and me.  

Why would He do such a thing?  Not a one of us can count ourselves worthy of such a sacrificial and unconditional love?   No, not a one. Therein, lies the greatest mystery of them all.  Why would Christ choose to die for me and you?  Certainly, the theologians and preachers point to love as the reason, but it still does not answer the question of why He would love us in such a self sacrificing way.  Why would He go to the cross for each one of us?  Of all the mysteries, surely this is the greatest.