Читать книгу There is More: When the World Says You Can’t, God Says You Can - Brian Houston, Brian Houston - Страница 16

We do not know this Australian’s name and we never will. We do not know his rank or his battalion. We do not know where he was born, nor precisely how and when he died. We do not know where in Australia he had made his home or when he left it for the battlefields of Europe. We do not know his age or his circumstances—whether he was from the city or the bush; what occupation he left to become a soldier; what religion, if he had a religion; if he was married or single. We do not know who loved him or whom he loved. If he had children we do not know who they are. His family is lost to us as he was lost to them. We will never know who this Australian was.

—PAUL KEATING, “Remembrance Day 1993:

Commemorative Address”

Similar to other countries, Australia has a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, located in Canberra. The mystery that surrounds the story of the unknown Australian soldier has captured the imagination of a nation. It tells of an unknown yet brave man who valiantly fought for his country and was wounded beyond recognition, leaving history to write his story.

Mystery, indeed, has intrigued the human soul for as long as time. Humanity’s intrepid nature has caused hundreds of explorers to conquer mountains that others said couldn’t be climbed. We are enamored with stories of the outer universe—places we have never been and never even seen. Human hearts have longed to travel farther than their imaginations will even allow. Tales of buried treasure and mysterious disappearances spark excitement in the minds of children; the great unknown draws people in like moths to a flame.

When I was a child, it was this penchant to understand that which wasn’t explained that often got me in trouble. “Don’t touch that hot plate, Brian.” “Stay Back, Wet Paint.” Warnings such as these were magnets for my curious personality. To this day, when food is delivered to my table with the warning “Be very careful—the plate is hot,” curiosity still sparks a compulsion for me to find out just how hot.

We are drawn to explain that which has no explanation.

It is natural, therefore, to be intrigued with the beauty and wonder of the vastness and mysterious nature of who God is. Our human understanding tries to reason Him into a rational and manageable size. Theologians try to explain Him and answer questions that continue to be asked time after time. Yet God remains far beyond human understanding. We cannot manage Him or fit Him into our realm of comprehension. We cannot restrict Him by our limited notions of what is possible. We want answers to questions that were meant to lead only to more questions. God is complex and ambiguous yet simple and clear.

Daring to dream big causes us to ask questions such as “What does God want for my life?” “How does God fit into this plan, or this plan into God’s?” “Does an infinite God even care about the finite details?” “Why did that roadblock stop me in my tracks?” and “Why does that person always seem to have more, while others have less?”