Jacob’s Dream

Embracing the Mystery

Why do we dream? We don’t know.

In our waking hours, we may try with varied success to assert control over our lives. But at night when we go to bed, dreams present a daily reminder of life’s mystery — of phenomena beyond our control.
Most of us feel unsettled when things are outside our control. But aren’t most of life’s deepest joys found in that unsettling place?

Consider the ocean. Its depths and unknowable vastness should deter anyone from venturing in, yet we are drawn to the sense of wonder we find there.

Or consider love. When we start to love someone, we use metaphors that emphasize a loss of control. We fall in love. We are swept off our feet! To embrace love means to let go of our small-minded world and give in to an experience that’s greater than ourselves.
When we consider these mysteries, we might recognize the voice of God as a similar invitation into the unknown.

Like all of life’s most vital experiences, an encounter with God is something that can be described but not explained. It’s something we think we understand from second-hand information, but totally defies our expectations when we find it ourselves. It takes us out of our depth.

In the book of Acts, the Apostle Paul tells us that God put eternity in the heart of every person, so that “they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him.” He then follows up with a simple statement: “Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.”

Here we find a picture of humanity. We are all feeling our way toward God.

Although we may not always acknowledge the true nature of our quest, we are all groping after the same God. The path may be beset with trials and pitfalls. But as with love, no matter how baffling or frustrating we may find this experience, a part of us knows it’s what we were made for. It is natural to who we are as humans.

The Good News is, we’re not groping around in the dark. In the search for God, we have a promise that He is actually very near to us. In fact, since Jesus came into the world, we have the clearest picture of who God is. Colossians says that Jesus “is the image of the invisible God,” revealing God’s nature for all to see.

So if you want to know God, look at Jesus. See Him healing the blind, caring for the poor and forgiving the sinner. See Him dying a brutal death at humanity’s hands, all while offering love to those who killed Him.

He is very near to you. His life is spread across the pages of the Bible. His Spirit is with you right now as you read this sentence.

If you would like to begin a relationship with Him, simply call upon His name. Invite Him to speak with you. Begin reading His Word and talking about it with people who have already been walking with God.
The search for God doesn’t end here. Knowing that Jesus is the answer doesn’t mean the end of all questions.

But it does mean that you can be confident on the way. All who have followed Jesus have done so by faith — even those who saw Him with their own eyes. He is always the great mystery, the one we can never solve but can always fall into, just as we fall into love. Yes, exactly like that.