One of the most popular tourist attractions in England is the giant stone pillars of Stonehenge. These massive pieces of granite are also a great source of mystery. Every year, people travel to Stonehenge with questions such as: Why are they erected? Who accomplished this extraordinary engineering marvel? And perhaps we wonder most of all how they did it. But visitors leave having received no answers from the silent stones. The mystery remains.
The Scriptures speak of a greater mystery - the fact that God came to live among us as a man. Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 3:16, "The mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory". This brief overview of the life of Christ - the mystery of godliness - is remarkable. What prompted the Creator of the universe to come and live and die for His creation, however, is not a mystery. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). God's great love for us is at the root of the mystery of godliness, and the cross has made it plain for all to see. How Christ became a human being may be a mystery, but God's love isn't.
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