**Originally in 2010 I completed an epic quest to write an A-Z of Children’s ministry, Now because of the epic fail detailed on an earlier blog post I am reposting an updated 2018 version!
M… monkey, miracle, mountain, miffed, moro…
M is for Mystery – The universe is pretty big, and with all that science has figured out I wonder if we have even scratched the surface of our ability to understand reality. So “I don’t know”, is a perfectly good answer for a lot of questions. Obviously not for “Where is the bathroom?”, or “How do I get Tommy out of the roof?”. But for many questions in life there are no answers, only more questions.
God has revealed a few secrets to us: “This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory” (Col 1:26,27).
But some things God keeps to himself: Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong unto the LORD…”
My wife watched Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing as a young teenager and then watching years later (I can neither confirm or deny if I watched it as well) suddenly realised she had completely missed the story line involving abortion the first time around. It was there right in front of her face, but she missed it hidden in plain view.
Our kids are certainly not ready to explore every mystery, there is a maturity and understanding that will grow with them. I love a mystery along with every human on earth and I truly believe that some of the mysteries and unanswered questions only help strengthen our faith not weaken it.
In this culture and time, make sure you pass on to your kids the mystery that God has revealed – Christ lives in you. But also the mysteries that make this life of faith an adventure that may forever be unexplained.
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