A mystery, indeed! 
Maybe @alison and I need to do a book club…
…as we seem to be asking similar questions from different angles!
Thank you for the Gerald Bray except as well! He seems to have voiced exactly what I am wrestling with, so I’ll make a note to check out that book. 
For me, all of this has stemmed from the last couple of years as my old way of relating to God was upended. God, who was distant, out there, cold taskmaster/employer, always looking at other people and things, became God, who was near to me, desired my presence and looks on me and others with compassion not annoyance. I now have a different framework for getting to know God and relating to him. He has become more subject than object!
And, Alison, as I’ve been composing a reply to you, I’ve decided I need to start a new, tangential thread on temptation, and, particularly, the temptation of Jesus. So. Much. To. Unpack. 