Mystery
May 13th, 2008
by Chad Jarnagin
![]()
Everyone has probably had questions without answers, been puzzled and frustrated at something that we just can’t make sense out of.
Almost everything in society is fact /control oriented. We as humans tend to get a form of temporary satisfaction from the control, facts, information we receive. Who likes to be left hanging on the edge of something unresolved? I mostly HATE it! I am seeing a trend in the way I live that involves almost every aspect of my life. I WANT RESOLVE and CONTROL! I don’t know many people that don’t.
There was a time not so long ago that I enjoyed life’s mysteries. I would basically embrace things that I didn’t fully comprehend. The world has tried to poison me (and YOU) to believe that we will find the peace and satisfaction we need in facts, logic, and control. In doing so this takes the magic out of faith.What if we decided that we weren’t going to let society tame our childhood belief in mystery the way that Paul talks of in Timothy 3:14? The Message translation says that “this life is a great mystery, far exceeding our understanding.” The life that follows Jesus will fall prey to the comprehension game if we don’t surrender ourselves to the mysterious awe of God that is possibly being beaten out of us by life itself.
We might be able to get a form of comfort from knowledge, but there will come a longing for supernatural mystery. That’s when I want to step back and let awe for the Creator overwhelm me. If He is the beginning and the end, we should have peace knowing that HE KNOWS ALL, and that we don’t have to. That probably won’t stop us from trying to know it all though. I guess we can hope and trust that through walking out our faith in a real world, God will meet us where we are and guide us with His Spirit to mystery, reality, logic, and truth.
I wonder what would happen if we would live impassioned to follow Jesus and not men. I wonder what would happen if men didn’t live by ego, pride, and control. Yeah it’s a mystery but it’s a mystery that I want to try and live with. “Faith is the evidence of things unseen”.
Chad Jarnagin. Songwriter. Worship Leader. Artist. Pastor. Creative Ideologist. Vocal Coach. Experience Architect. I grew up around Cincinnati, OH and have lived in the Nashville area for over 10 years. I’m the Worship Arts Pastor of Rolling Hills Community Church… 








Interesting thoughts. Reminds me of Albert Einstein’s essay on NPR’s This I Believe series:
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious—the knowledge of the existence of something unfathomable to us, the manifestation of the most profound reason coupled with the most brilliant beauty.”
“I am satisfied with the mystery of life’s eternity and with the awareness of—and glimpse into—the marvelous construction of the existing world together with the steadfast determination to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the reason that manifests itself in nature. This is the basis of cosmic religiosity, and it appears to me that the most important function of art and science is to awaken this feeling among the receptive and keep it alive.”
Keep it coming!
Great writing and super insightful. Thanks for sharing. I’ll be chewing on this today. I’ve really GOT to give over my need for control and your words are a good push.
Keep on my friend.
PS I noticed you gave team awesome some link love ;)