There are some moments that you just have to take when they come along. Do you know what I mean? Have you ever had a moment come along that just seems tailored for you, personally? The moments I'm talking about are times like a friend asking if anyone happens to have a glue stick on them, and you just happen to carry glue sticks with you, for no reason other than, "someone might need one." I'm reminded of one of those moments I had in Louisville.
We were discussing Scripture, and how sometimes we come across something that seems to be a contradiction, but upon further reflection isn't. In order to explain the concept our pastor decided to remind the class (it was in Sunday school) that these are what we generally call "paradoxes." If, for whatever reason, you are unfamiliar with the term it means what I just explained: something that appears to be a contradiction, but isn't necessarily. Its a good term, particularly because there are several paradoxical statements in Scripture. But I digress.
As he was attempting to get the class used to the term he asked, "Does anyone know what a paradox is?" Now, this was one of those moments for which I live. I love the odd words of the English language. In fact I try to regularly increase my vocabulary, because there is such a rich diversity of terminology available to us who speak English. Thus, of course I knew what a paradox was, even if very few members of the class were familiar with the term.
Because I knew the term, and because no one else was speaking and I could tell some people were a little embarrassed to admit they didn't know the term, I had to immediately speak up. So I did. As my pastor was getting ready to explain the concept I said, "I know what a paradox is. A paradox is two doctors." Did I mention I also love the Marx brothers and particularly enjoy the banter between Groucho and Chico?
While my wise crack didn't get much of a chuckle (I got a few smiles) the idea of paradox made more of an impact on those in the church. And for good reason, paradoxes are important to the Christian faith.
Think about just a few of the paradoxes we must embrace to be Christians: success is often measured by persecution, only by dying to ourselves can we find life in Christ, only by ceasing to attempt to earn our position before God through our works can we find a hope of peace in the work he has done for us, even the symbol of our hope and the power of our faith is an instrument of torture and murder. Our faith is one where it seems that logic would lead us to an exact opposite conclusion of how to attain righteousness. What man would say that only by agreeing to die daily can a man actually have any hope of life? Who would have concluded that the idea that God had forgiven all of our unrighteous deeds, past, present, and future, could lead to a moral revolution that would inspire men to serve and love others more than themselves? Our God is greater than we can imagine still, because he does his great works through the most insignificant of people: us.
Though we look poor, God says we have great wealth in heaven. Though we are broken, God says we are to be the healers of others. Though we are people from many lands and languages, God says we are all one family. Though we are often persecuted, God says we are to be the most peaceful people of all. Though we are often condemned for our faith, we are the only ones who enjoy true freedom.
I know that the American church does not experience the same poverty of other churches. We do not experience the same persecution, and we are not usually imprisoned for our faith. We live in a land that has been different than others for over 200 years, and we can praise God for that. But, we have also failed to be the integrated church we could have been, we have failed to be a people broken by our own iniquities and the iniquities of our nation far more often than we have embraced the brokenness to which God has called us.
Yet, our God is still a God of paradoxes. That church which has been most unfaithful can still become the most faithful. God's Word is described as powerful and living, and as our God still lives, he can still do miracles. We are not a people without hope, no matter what our current circumstances may be. For no matter what confronts us, our God is still the controller of the universe, and our circumstances come from his hand. We can praise him in times of ease, and sing of his goodness in times of suffering. Let us embrace the God of paradoxes, the only true God, who turns defeat into victory, and brings eternal life from the death of his son on the cross.
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