Mysterious God
THE 10th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
People of Israel,
your God is a mystery,
though he alone can save. ~ Isaiah 45:15 (CEV)
No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is truly God and is closest to the Father, has shown us what God is like. ~ John 1:18 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
The paradox is that when Jesus, the one who most clearly shows us what God is like, reveals his salvation, we see that God is even more of a mystery to us.
PRAYER:
God, after all the study and contemplation I feel like I should better understand you. But the better I know you the less I understand you. Help me to embrace the mystery of who you are and how you operate. I'm going to live by faith. Thank you for your mysterious love and grace. Amen.
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own freestyle biblical adaptation — somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
