On Not Having All the Answers (Third Tuesday in Advent)

I wish that I could give people solid answers to all of their questions about God. I wish I could tell them exactly why their children die, why their loved ones fall ill, why pain comes to all of us. Though I can point again and again to Scripture, though I can assure people over and over again about the magnitude of God’s love, I cannot give them all the answers. I don’t know the answers myself.

Until Christ comes again, we are left not having all the answers. God has only told us what we need to know now. There is so much that is left unsaid, so much that is unclear. Until that time when “the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea,” until that time when understanding sweeps over us like a wave crashing upon the dry beach, we will remain ever thirsty for the Holy One.

At this point in our lives, it is important as Christians to admit that we do not have all the answers. We are not meant to to know everything because Christ has not yet come. The plan of salvation has not yet been fully revealed. When we admit that we do not know everything, we acknowledge not only our humanity but the fact that we are a people who will wait for the culmination of God’s plan. We wait for God to answer those questions that, at the present moment, cannot be adequately answered.

So we live in the questions themselves, waiting for God to reveal the Word to us, waiting for Truth to illumine the dark corners of our minds. This is not instantly gratifying. It does not sell well in today’s market. The idea of mystery is not attractive to the mind that craves security and comfort. But it is the way of the honest heart, the soul who is not afraid to live in a period of waiting, to let the emptiness exist.

Kate Moorehead
Between Two Worlds

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Isaiah 11:1-9

Each day of Advent, we will post here a brief meditation on the Coming of Christ; please come back throughout Advent for reflections, art, music, and more.
You’re invited to join us for worship on this Fourth Sunday of Advent: “Prepare for the Promise” at 11 am.

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