Faith is a Paradox at the End of an Infinite Rope
Good Morning Friends,
Remember that moment in the movie Cars where Lighting McQueen is instructed that to go left he had to turn right? It is seemingly contradictory but true. So it is in reading the Bible. In reading other sacred books I have never gotten the same feeling as in reading the Bible. Maybe it is because I read it in a different way. Some would argue that believing what is in the Bible diminishes our potential as humans.
But these people are missing something. They do not understand the nature of God…the nature of life…that Faith is a Paradox at the End of an Infinite Rope.
Scripture: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Philippians 2:8-9 (KJV)
Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.
2 Corinthians 12:10 (The Message)
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
Hebrews 11:1-3 (NRSV)
The Rock, his work is perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God, without deceit, just and upright is he;
Deuteronomy 32:4 (NRSV)
Message: WARNING- Today’s message requires us to mentally, physically and spiritually get on our knees….to be Justified by Grace through Faith in the paradox of paradoxes. Anything short just does not cut it. We are prompted to seek an answer…..even if all this writing about it just falls short. Still in the mystery I ask why Christ is being exalted through humility…Why we discover strength in weakness….Why in giving we receive… Why we find freedom through servitude… gaining by losing…living by dying…finding by losing…Why are we called to be in the world but not of it? It is enough to make my head spin. I wonder why this is and have come to the conclusion it is to guide us into greater Faith. Today I am trying to get my hands around this thing Faith and the tighter I try to grasp it, the faster it slips through my hands. There are markers but in their concreteness they become a betrayal of sorts. Knowing that Faith is the inexpressible divine reality does not help much. Pretty futile to write about, but still I write. Then I just trust that Faith is nothing short of a miracle. The miracle of Jesus. Here we belong to the great contradiction….knowing that time must not stop but that it must. Trusting and obeying God in the nothingness of our final existence only to discover there is more. Friends here on my knees I realize I cannot perceive the grace of creation nor the grace of redemption unless I submit to being nothing. Only in becoming nothing do I become in Christ something. Friends, our only righteousness is not ours at all. Our only belief is the belief we believe. Today for me Faith does not prompt happiness and joy so much as inner unrest. Oh the joy is still there but so too the unrest…the tension of a faith beyond consciousness. Here Faith is a confession. Here Faith is the inner submission of our attitude and action to Christ. Here Faith is God’s imprint on not just us but all of mankind. Here paradoxes move us to seek more information or perhaps surprisingly increase our trust. Friends, we are dealing with the handiwork of God who is omnipotent and omniscient. Faith is a gift but also a great mystery.
Pray we experience the assurance of faith even if it is to draw us deeper into the mystery. Pray we taste and smell the essence of our faith by discovering that we are nothing without Jesus. Pray we realize that in all our earthly pursuits…trying to succeed and prosper and enjoy material possessions… that we never really satisfy the soul. Pray we read, Romans 6:18, Acts 20:35, Philippians 3:7-8, John 12:24 and Matthew 10:39 so we might confront the paradox of faith. Pray we realize that time must not stop, but that it must. Pray that our faith is not the object of speculation. Pray we trust and obey. Pray we seek the answer in Christ. Pray we embrace a Jesus who is both man and God. Pray that meaning becomes meaningless. Pray our Faith grows.
Daily Devotionals 