Stewards of God’s Mysteries

By Joseph Murdy

“Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries.” 1 Corinthians 4:1

“Where is heaven?” A young child asks you as they are leaving the church. “Why did my husband die in that horrible accident?” A grieving wife asks you as you comfort the family. “When is Jesus coming back?” Asks the curious confirmation student. “How does that bread and that wine become the body and blood of Jesus?” Questions without answers is part of the package when you become a child of God.

We live in a society that demands answers, we sit in pews waiting for all to be revealed, and we lose sleep at night thinking about the grand mysteries of the universe. At least I do. We can sometimes allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the lack of answers, rather than finding comfort in the questions themselves. What if you knew exactly where heaven was? What if you knew exactly when Jesus was coming back? What if you knew how the cosmos ran, or what God looks like?

This past Sunday we read 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, which says that we are “Servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries.” The words, “Stewards of God’s mysteries” continues to comfort me as I seek to embrace the mystery that is God. Being a steward of God’s mysteries means trusting in God unconditionally. As servants of Christ and children of God we are given the mysteries of God not to be answered but to be comforted in knowing that God’s ways our not our own. Jesus tells us, “Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.” We can rest with assurance in God’s abundant grace knowing that, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him.”