God has many secrets. A secret is something hidden, something that remains unexplained—something that nobody really knows, or only a few people know.
God has a secret, and not many people know about it. Romans 16:25 talks about “the mystery which was kept secret since the world began.” What could that secret be? Are we even allowed to know?
Yes, we are. The Psalmist talks about “dwelling in the secret place of the Most High” (Psalm 91:1). In the season of his affliction, Job longed to be “as I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle” (Job 29:4). So it is possible to know the secret of God. But what exactly is that secret?
Even more interesting is the fact that God Himself IS a secret, a mystery. When Jesus appeared to Manoah, He declared that “My name… it is secret.” Judges 13:18
Storytime.
I remember one evening when I was 14 years of age. I was on my bed in my room in Norway, and it was already dark outside. My conscience really troubled me about some things of the past. I strongly felt I had to go to my dad and confess those things. But I was terrified. What would he do if I just went and told him? Would he be mad at me? At best, he would laugh at me, and tease me again about being too troubled for little things. But the urge to go and tell him was so strong, that I rose up and headed towards the living room, where my Dad was sitting in front of the computer. There I stood, in front of the shut door, struggling and wondering if I really should do this.
I finally decided to open the door and walked slowly towards my dad. I didn’t really know how to begin, but somehow I managed to tell him what was on my heart, and awaited in fear for whatever was going to happen next.
What happened was nothing of what my teenage-prejudiced mind had expected. I vividly remember Dad looking at me with such kindness in his eyes; he began speaking, and his words were so comforting, so full of pity. I also remember him using his affectionate diminutive for my name. I went to bed, not only relieved, but suddenly aware of a truth about my dad that I had somehow missed all along: that my Dad loved me.
It was a little bit of a revelation for my 14-year-old self. My dad loves me! I kind of knew that before, too, in my head. But now, I KNEW. I knew that my Dad deeply loved me. I knew it in my heart.
Another story. True one. (Bear with me, it’s a good one!)
Many years ago, a young fellow who attended the Adventist University in Peru, fell in love. The young lady was quite beautiful and attractive, but held herself aloof; the most popular, handsome and smart men on campus had tried to conquer her, but with no success.
This young man wasn’t particularly attractive, but he really and truly loved her, and he kept that love secretly hidden in his heart.
One year, he found out she was going to drop out of school because of insufficient funds. He went over to the director’s office, and offered to spend one year canvassing to support the costs of her education. The director tried to dissuade him from his plan, but to no avail. “It’s my money, and I want to pay for her expenses. And, please, I don’t want her to know who paid!”
A couple of months into the year, he wrote to one of his closest friends, “You said it’s not worth the sacrifice, that she will never look at me, but what you don’t know is that I love her, and I couldn’t let her miss one year of her studies. I love her. It doesn’t matter if she will never look at me. I’m happy to do this for her.”
One year passed. He came back to university, and met her again. One day, he gathered enough courage to open his heart and make his feelings known.
It was a very sad moment. The lady was very rude in her speech, said some hard things, and walked away. She felt very confident and proud of herself.
One of her friends approached her. “How did you dare to talk to him that way? You have all the right to say ‘no,’ but you could have been a bit more kind and tactful, at least! He dropped out of school last year to pay for your studies!”
The young lady gasped in awe. She ran to her room, tears in her eyes, and cried, and cried, and cried for a long time. Her confidence and pride were gone; she now felt ashamed.
The young lady had known in her head that he loved her. But now she discovered a depth of love she had not been aware of before. It was a revelation to her. She arrived to the conclusion, “How can I not love someone who has loved me so much?”
And so it is with God’s secret. Many people know that God loves them. They know in their heads. But few people KNOW that God loves them. It is a secret, it is a mystery, and we need a personal revelation of that mystery to us.
“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge…” Ephesians 3:17-19
These were some thoughts I pondered over this morning. And, like John Wesley, “my heart was strangely warmed.”
I want to know Him, and love Him more. Do you?