Paradox is not two MDs sharing an office

I have never been a person that accepts what others tell me if I have the ability to research and “check it out”. Its not that I think that all people are lying to me , I mean I may be paranoid, but not that paranoid. I think it is because even though I am an opinionated person, I would hope that my opinions come after investigating the evidence that has been provided.

Regarding things of faith, I am not afraid to investigate or to question. I never question the validity of Scripture, but I will questions the traditions of men as it relates to what a Christian is and does.

I have always been offended by the “accept Jesus and all of life will be fine and easy” type of mentality. I think my main reason for the offence is that the statement is a lie. The reality is that Its kind of like that old song I Never Promised you a Rose Garden. There is nothing in scripture that says that life will be fine, in fact quite the contrary. As we look at the lives of the disciples we see that their lives were anything but rosy. What we do find is a group of individuals that knew that life was like a mountain range, lots of ups and downs. The issue was not life, but who we have by our side and in our hearts to deal with it.

I bring all this up to say this, as Christians we need to be honest. We need to tell people that life with Christ is a paradox at times. I know that many people have problems with paradox, some even don’t know the difference between paradox and contradiction. So I think we should look at the definition for both; so here goes.


contradiction:

1: opposition between two conflicting forces or ideas 2: (logic) a statement that is necessarily false; "the statement `he is brave and he is not brave' is a contradiction"

paradox:

That which is apparently, though not actually, inconsistent with or opposed to the known facts in any case.


The Bible is full of paradox, in fact that is one reason why people say that it is full of contradictions when it is not, because contradiction and padarox are often confused. Lets look at some statements of paradox in the scriptures:

Prov 3:7
There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing. And one that makes himself poor, yet has great riches

This next paradox from the New Testament seems to explain our one from Proverbs

Mark 8:35
For whoever desires to save his like will lose it , but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospels will save it.


And I think the following is my favorite:

Matt 10:16

Behold I send you out as sheep among the wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.


Some of the modern translations translate the paradox right out of the scripture. I think we miss out when they do that.

I have found a song that speaks of the paradox of the Christian life and it has become my signature song. It is by a band called Delirious and it is from their first album called King of Fools. I would like to tell you that the first time I heard this song that my mind reached out and grasped it with full understanding, but I would be lying. It took listening to a few times and going through a time in my life where the paradox became more evident. Please look at the lyric and see if you can relate.

King Of Fools

Waiting for you
Nothing in this world can bring me
Peace and madness
They've become the very best of friends

Walking with you
Blindly follow out upon the
Water runs down
You've become the very best of friends

I'll live for you and try to be the king of fools
I'll long for you and walk before the king of all

Joy has found me
Living life without you would be
Hell or heaven
Soon we'll find the greatest king of fools

I'll live for you and try to be the king of fools
I'll long just to walk before the king of fools

Written by Stuart Garrard/Martin Smith ©1997 Curious? Music UK


The scripture the title of the song was taken from is:

1 Cor 4: 9-10
For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. 10We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.

We take what the world thinks is foolishness and live a life of it . If we follow Jesus with our whole hearts we would have to live a life of paradox, why? Well it all comes down to that old sin nature thing. We know that we want to live for Christ, but if we are honest we know we often miss the mark. How can we have Christ in us and still blow it?

The most famous paradox in the bible illustrates and explains it so well.

Rom 7: 14-25
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.


Wow is that like paradox personified or what? This is what the song speaks of, when it says “Peace and madness”. When it talks of “Life with out you would be hell or heaven” it speaks of the paradox that we saw in Rom 7.

But we need to know that through all of this paradoxical life, we have the answer. We hear it when the singer says. “I‘ll live for you and try to be the king of fools”.

When we live for God and not for ourselves we see the answer
Romans 8:1-9

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.


Indeed the above scripture is the answer. We know that what Jesus did allows us to be clean in God’s eyes, because he looks at us and sees Jesus instead of our sin. I think we would all agree that although we do live in the spirit it takes time for us to do so more and more. This is called sanctification. We are a work in progress. This is not an excuse for not doing our best to live according to the spirit, this is an admission that because of our sin nature we blow it sometimes.

Sometimes life is confusing, situations seem bigger than life, what can we do when this paradox slaps us in the face? The only thing that we can do is hang onto Jesus and what he did, and who he is. We don’t always have to understand it all, that is where faith comes in, but we have to trust when we can not see through the paradoxes of life and know Jesus is there and he understands.