THE ANSWERS TO THE PUZZLES 6/12/09

THE ANSWERS TO THE PUZZLES!
As Jim and I walked one morning, I saw something glistening in the sun. I looked closer and found a small oval shaped pin. It had a loop for a chain and also a clasp so it could be pinned on. The date on it was 2007-2008. It had a name of a girl and also name and town of the store where it was made. It was an award pin and on the front it said; "Laura’s Wolf Pack". Jim and I looked it over and then I put it in my pocket. Immediately a memory flashback took over my mind. I laughed in remembrance and shared with Jim this story.

While in the 4th grade my friend Iona Kay and I would walk to and from school on a street that was a walking thoroughfare. No side walks! Lots of dirt and much trash filled the sides of the street. It was a residential area and in the center was a divider, that was a dirt mound with weeds and more trash. But it provided easy travel for cars traveling east and west. One afternoon walking home from school, besides stepping on the empty packages of ‘Lucky Strikes’ so we could save up our strikes to hit those we didn’t like, we found a piece of paper with some writing on it. Part of the message was missing and we were instantly intrigued. Of course we had read enough of Nancy Drew books to know a mystery when we saw one. A plan was formulating in our young minds and a club called "The Answers to the Puzzles" was created. We stood up in our 4th grade class the next day and introduced our idea and asked all those who would like to join, to meet in Iona Kay’s sunroom the following Tuesday after school and we will begin looking for and solving puzzles. Brilliant idea! Or so we thought!

At our first meeting, I don’t believe we had any takers except for a few close friends. We paid our due’s which amounted to a few pennies and a nickle. If I remember rightly, I was the treasurer. Iona Kay the president! Our sleuthing days didn’t last!.

However, with the internet at hand I did a little sleuthing regarding the found pin. I am not handy with the internet but after 30 minutes or so I found the store that made the pin. I was so excited! I have mastered the internet, a little bit! The owner of the pin lived in Florida.

Life is full of mysteries! To us God is a mystery! His son Jesus is a mystery! How our bodies die and yet we live, is a mystery! How a baby is formed in the mother’s womb and grows as a plant in a hot house and then knows when it is time to be born, is a mystery. How someone could love me to the exclusion of choosing someone else, is a mystery! How when a man and wife can become one is a mystery! How those in Christ can stand firm and find peace in the midst of turmoil, is a mystery to the world! If you stop long enough and think of the mysteries of life, you could fill sheets and sheets with thoughts that are a mystery to you.

In Ephesians 3:4 Paul alludes to the mysteries of Christ. That is because Paul was chosen to take the gospel to the gentiles as noted in verse 6. In Ephesians 6:19 Paul asks the Ephesians to continue in prayer for him that he would be able to speak boldly, proclaiming this mystery of the gospel. We are to pray for each other so that we can be as bold as Paul, as we reveal the mysteries of the gospel today. In Galatians 3:25-26 this mystery is revealed in that through Christ ‘all’ are sons of God through faith! The mystery of two shall become one is revealed in Ephesians 5:31-33 where Paul speaks about Christ and the church. Christ is the groom and the church is His bride. Even so the husband is to love his wife and she is to respect her husband!

When I read a book, I start with the end. I love mysteries but I want to know who did it before I begin. When we read the end of God’s Word, we realize that the mysteries have been solved. Mysteries can be puzzling but in Christ all is revealed. Read it again from the beginning to the end and you will see that Jesus is the one who did it! By Jane Ann Crenshaw 6/13/08