The Secret of Life
“For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach.” Deuteronomy 30:11
Not Too Difficult – Our culture is saturated with the Greek idea of hidden, secret knowledge. In ancient Greece, popular Gnostic and mystic religions proclaimed various secret understandings about life. To join these sects and become illuminated meant taking a death vow. If you revealed the secret to an outsider, you could be killed.
We don’t take such extreme measures today, but we still hold on to the Greek mysticism that endorses the “secrets” of life. A casual walk through the bookstore says it all. Secrets of success. Secrets to great sex. Secrets the government doesn’t want you to know. Secret ways to get what you want. Secrets to losing weight. On and on it goes. Don’t you ever wonder, “If all of these things are secrets, how did we ever manage to survive this long?” Our Greek, post-modern culture loves the idea of secrets because secrets feed the ego with power and control. If I know something you don’t, I can take advantage of situations you can’t. Therefore, I am better than you.
But what if life isn’t really like that? What if it’s all a metaphysical smoke screen designed to entice you to lust for power? What if we had a Hebrew view instead of a Greek perspective? We would suddenly discover that life is really pretty simple. There really aren’t any secrets for gaining power over the way life is. From the Hebrew point of view, life is pretty much just what it seems to be. God designed life so that anyone who asks will know what to do. In fact, God gave instructions about living before we even asked the questions. He provided the Law, a code of conduct that governs relationships with Him and with all other people and the rest of creation. God never left us in the dark, wondering how we were going to survive without the essential secrets. He told us straight up what life was all about and how to conduct ourselves accordingly.
From the Hebrew perspective, there is no hidden reality deeply buried behind the appearances we encounter with our senses. Instead, there is life as it is. And God, Who is not hidden away in the transcendent other world, is right here in the midst of it all, interacting with us, guiding us, providing for us and protecting us – in the midst of life as it is. In fact, God tells us plainly that what He gives as the guide to life is lo-nif.let hiv mim (not too extraordinary or too difficult). God’s instructions are plain and simple. No secrets.
What would happen to the way you behave if you knew that life is exactly what life appears to be, that the good, the bad and the ugly are all factors woven into God’s order of existence for the fallen world? How would your thinking change if you knew that what God has already revealed about Himself and His purposes is sufficient for living a full and satisfying life right here, in the middle of systems under the control of the evil one? What if you realized that finding the right solution was really a myth? The right solution was never covered up at all. It was right there in front of you, in His Word. Would you be relieved? Would you rejoice? Would you stop feeling so guilty for not knowing the secrets of life? Now, let me tell you a secret. There aren’t any secrets. Just go read the Book!
