Puzzles

I really enjoy doing jigsaw puzzles. We usually have one going at our house. It’s something that the whole family can participate in, so I don’t have to solve it all by myself. Fitting the pieces together is tricky, but I know that it’s possible. So I persist and it eventually works out.  All the pieces fit together and make a beautiful picture.

Life is kind of like that, isn’t it? Lots of pieces that don’t seem to fit eventually do. It may take a lifetime to see it all come together. But when that last piece is in place, we will see how it was all meant to be. 

I love the promise in Romans 8:28 that says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (ESV). Have you ever thought about how Jesus lived out a puzzle before His disciples? No one has ever loved God or followed his calling more completely than the Savior. And in doing so, He puzzled those around Him.

For example, after some of the disciples observed the transfiguration on the mountain top, this is what was recorded. “And as they came down the hill-side, he warned them not to tell anybody what they had seen till ‘the Son of Man should have risen again from the dead.’ They treasured this remark and tried to puzzle out among themselves what ‘Rising from the dead’ could mean” (Mark 9:9-10, J. B. Phillips). Lots of things Jesus said and did were “puzzling” to His followers.

When Christ actually did rise from the dead, His loved ones were still puzzled over what was happening before their eyes. The crucifixion was a puzzle. The resurrection was a puzzle. The angels at the tomb challenged them to think about the puzzling facts. “Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise. And they remembered his words…” (Luke 24:6-8, ESV).

When Jesus walked with the disciples on the Emmaus Road, He knew that they were still puzzled. They didn’t know what to believe. So “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27, ESV). All of the puzzling events, all the pieces, finally fit together after Jesus went to Heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to help them understand.

We aren’t done with our puzzle pieces yet. Some of them fit. Some are still loose on the table. But someday the last piece will fall into place. Aren’t you excited to see the final completed picture?