What can God’s ambiguity teach me?

Job 37:23-24We cannot imagine the power of the Almighty; but even though he is just and righteous, he does not destroy us. No wonder people everywhere fear him. All who are wise show him reverence.

Ecclesiastes 3:14I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him.

The inexplicable aspects of God can teach us to respect him, causing us to hold him in awe and offer him the reverence he deserves.

Matthew 24:30-31, 36, 42, 44“And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven . . . However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows . . . So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming . . . You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”

Mark 13:33, 35“And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert! . . . You, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know when the master of the household will return—in the evening, at midnight, before dawn, or at daybreak.”

The mystery of the timing of Jesus’ return can motivate us to make consistent, godly choices every day.

Romans 7:15-25I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

Galatians 4:9So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world?

Colossians 2:20You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world.

The ambiguous question about the power of sin in our lives leads us to this truth: The only real answer to our sin is the person and work of Jesus Christ, who forgives all sin and moves us to totally depend on and trust him.