Some folks like to sit down
in an evening with a good "mystery" book. As the reader tries to follow the
twists and turns of the plot, he is drawn on to the end of the book where finally
the villain is captured. Right triumphs over wrong and all live happily ever
after. That's what happens in fiction books, but the real stories of life don't
always turn out quite that neatly.
We live in a world where
many happy beginnings don't end that way. The tragic snuffing out of a young
life, or the unexplained ending of a wonderful love affair in the divorce courts,
or the drunken driver that leaves loved ones disfigured or crippled for the
rest of their lives are mysteries that leave all of us asking "why?"
The answers to life's tragedies
largely go unanswered. Is God a frivolous God who gets some sadistic enjoyment
out of our suffering? To ask that question answers it: Of course not. If He
isn't a frivolous God, then He must be able to use this suffering to bring glory
to Himself and benefit to His people. But how?
I have just read a most
touching book of triumph from tragedy. Jason, My Child chronicles the
shock of listening to a doctor telling Wes and Martha Vitale of Saugus, MA,
that their five-year-old son has leukemia. Their seemingly ordered life is plunged
into a swirl of shots, chemotherapy, hospitals, and expenses that bring exhaustive
disarray to all aspects of life. Life in fiction books have happy endings, but
not in this real-life mystery. This is an honestly written book. It doesn't
gloss over the trauma of the situation. But it does tell how friends prayed
and cared. It does tell how God stilled hearts in the midst of the storm. It
does tell how the faith of a little child triumphed over the fear of facing
mountainous difficulties and finally death itself.
The "whys" are not answered,
but the immensity of God's sustaining grace and the practical love shown by
the assembly and relatives and friends is demonstrated to be the ultimate triumph
over the most extreme tragedies life can throw our way. The evening you spend
with this "mystery book" will be much more rewarding than any fiction you may
choose to read.
But there are "mysteries"
that God has chosen to reveal to us. These have been hidden in the past
counsels of God and concern His eternal purposes with mankind. The Old Testament,
God's "picture" book, is full of hidden clues and types of these mysteries;
but it isn't until the New Testament revelation that they became known. God
Himself reveals them to us, and what a joy it is to learn of the wonderful things
God has planned for us from eternity past. How privileged we are to be the recipients
of God's full revelation. Those things which the prophets looked into with little
understanding have now been revealed to us in this age of full revelation in
Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:12).
Gods' Sacred Secrets--a
book written by Mr. T. Ernest Wilson (originally titled Mystery Doctrines
of the New Testament)--is now available from Gospel Folio Press. Fourteen
mysteries under four headings: Doctrinal, Dispensational, Devotional, and Diabolical,
are elucidated by our esteemed brother. In his simple, straitforward, and concise
style, Mr. Wilson brings home each of these New Testament mysteries with practical
value to our hearts as well as to our minds. These mysteries are not mysterious,
but are truths of God that are undiscoverable by human reason. They are revealed
to us so we may be obedient to the truth revealed, and live in its light.
If you don't have this book
in its old format, you will be richly blessed as you meditate on these great
truths. If you already have this book, you are now able to buy a copy for that
young person in your assembly so he may study these great truths and profit
from them too. So whether you delve into the unexplained mysteries of life or
the mysteries hidden in the Old Testament and revealed in the New, these two
books will be profitable to you.