God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (CSB) COL. 1:27

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Bob Seger walked out of the movie American Graffiti and thought, “I have a story to tell, too.” He sat down and wrote what would become Rolling Stone Magazine’s Song of the Year for 1977, Night Moves. The radio and album versions of the song differ slightly, as was the norm in the days of Top 40 radio. The album version contains a wistful line set to silence and a repeating bass line:

I awoke last night to the sound of thunder
How far off I sat and wondered
Started humming a song from 1962
Ain’t it funny how the night moves
When you just don’t seem to have as much to lose
Strange how the night moves
With autumn closing in

Bob Seger, Night Moves, 1976

This is this song which gives us the memorable line, “working on mysteries without any clues.” 

Alicia Silverstone was in a 1995 movie entitled Clueless. Having never seen anything but the reviews of the movie, I cannot comment on its relative merits. However, it appears that it provides a pretty good description of most people today when it comes to things which truly matter. People who are experts on everything in People Magazine are truly clueless about world events and the United States Constitution. 

Trust me when I tell you I am not about to begin shouting, “Get off my lawn!” The point, and yes there is one, is that so many people are so nonchalant about matters of fact and truth

Most people would come closer to believing Dan Brown (The Da Vinci Code) than the Apostle Paul. They prefer mystery fiction to “the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints,” (v. 26). 

We do not need a secret code or special glasses to rightly interpret and apply the Bible. We need the good sense God gave us and the insights his Spirit provides when we truly seek him. Then we discover the mystery Paul wrote about all along was about the coming of Jesus. Even more, it is about us trusting Jesus for salvation and becoming what Paul describes as “in Christ.” This is his favorite term for our salvation.

Consider 2 Cor. 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!”

The true mystery is why everyone is not in Christ. Many people claim to be. Many others hope it all works out in the end somehow without any participation on their part now. 

There is “glorious wealth” in this mystery of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” This wealth is not measured in dollars and cents. This glory is not about you on a stage with bright lights and fawning fans. Why settle for trinkets? There is richness which cannot be counted by bankers or measured by jewelers. There is beauty beyond the ability of genetic combination or cosmetic illustration. 

In this mystery of living in Christ, there are new discoveries every day. There are new adventures. There is a new destiny. 

Those who work on mysteries without any clues can exchange that futility for daily doses of truth which make life ever more glorious. Living in Christ truly is The Great Adventure. 

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I will live the great adventure in Christ.

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Our Father, thank you for facts and truth. Thank you for wisdom and guidance. Thank you for leading us along this great adventure. Amen.