*The
Christian faith cannot be examined
solely through an intellectual lens nor solely an emotional lens; rather, a
synthesis of the two is essential for it is only
through the marriage of intellect & soul that you truly find our
humanity & our Maker.
If you are a Christian then you
proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord & Savior of your life. He is the ultimate
authority. As a believer I truly believe that Christ reigns supreme past,
present, & future. The origins for these radical assertions are found in
the Old Testament. The ancient Scriptures are chalked full of prophecies
proclaiming Christ’s Kingdom: “His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom,
& all the rulers will worship him” [Daniel 7:27].
Jeremiah 23 also proclaims that
Christ’s Kingdom will flourish & “execute judgment & justice.” Of
course, the New Testament is the fulfilling of these prophecies & the
documentation of Christ’s time spent on earth. But to believers &
non-believers alike it is perplexing to look around the world today seeing all
the evil & atrocities still occurring, while also reconciling the supposed
truth of these prophecies. If Christ truly is King, where is His never ending
Kingdom? Where is His throne & scepter? Where are His acts of judgment
condemning the weak? Where are His acts of mercy to the afflicted? Why do the
innocent suffer? In the midst of the refugee crisis, or the terror of ISIS, or
the terrible poverty rate… Where is God?
It is these questions that often
serve as roadblocks to believers & non-believers alike. I truly believe that
our comfort & reassurance to these complex questions are found in the
paradoxes of Scripture. In fact, at its absolute core, Scriptures is a
collection of paradoxes, but it is essential to realize that a paradoxical
answer to the questions prior are perhaps the only plausible answers. Before I
address the infallibility of the Scriptures, allow me to present three “real
world” paradoxes that encompass profound truths to build a case for Scriptural supremacy.
Only after convincing you of a paradoxical power in non-spiritual matters can I
grab your attention to entertain spiritual paradoxes:
1.
The paradoxes of a woman’s power. A caring, loving, & gentle woman
possesses the most powerful influence
over a man. This of course is paradoxical because for a man to exercise power
over another man force, violence, & cunning is often the only solution.
Yet, women possess a very profound & paradoxical power over a man; it is in
her incredibly soft voice that a man’s stubbornness reaches an impasse. A
woman’s soothing voice & sound reasoning often persuades a man more
effectively than the sword.
2.
Another paradox is best summed up in an old Chinese proverb: “He who asks a
question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a
fool forever.” The gateway to infinite knowledge & wisdom is acknowledging
your “foolishness.” This proves to be truly a paradoxical process.
3. The
last paradox lies within tragedy, yet is entirely relevant to our discussion.
Unfortunately, there is a very tragic paradoxical relationship between wealth
& happiness. Countless Hollywood musicians, artists, actors, etc. all
lament of the evils of wealth & fame. Being an avid fan of rap I’ve grown
up listening to this sad reality. Perhaps the most chilling phrase which has
remained in my conscious is from J. Cole’s “Chaining Day” in which he
acknowledges his trust in wealth is foolish: “Don’t take this chain [wealth] from
me/because I chose this slavery/my guilt as heavy as this piece [jewelry] I
wear.” This acknowledgment that wealth can never satisfy is not a new
phenomenon. This is an age-old reality lamented by humanity throughout time. Perhaps
our happiness, & future generations’ happiness, could be better informed
based on the study of the past & the warnings of those with wealth. But
here I am progressing down the rabbit hole of another paradox [the study of
history] so I digress.
Now that we can all agree that some
of the most profound realities in this world exist in the form of paradoxes
& in the most unlikely ways, I will now present three incredibly monumental
[& relevant] paradoxes of the Christian faith. It is important to note that
although the following three are spiritual at its core, there are pragmatic,
moral truths in here that transcend to good citizenship, regardless of your
religious convictions:
1. The
most effective leader is the selfless servant. Jesus Christ the full embodiment
of this. As the Son of God, the one with absolute dominion over the earth,
Jesus humbled Himself to the most humiliating
execution of His day [crucifixion]. It was such an awful death that it was
reserved only for the most despicable of criminals, & it was so gruesome
that the Roman government condemned executions within its city walls because of
the nature of the death. It was pure torcher. The Son of Man who was present at
creation decided in those moments to subject Himself to our death sentence. He committed the ultimate act of servant-hood
& humility. This is the charge given to us. Therefore another paradox
emerges for Christians: In order to effectively lead others, you must first
learn what it means to follow Christ.
2. That
which is perceived as earthly weakness is actually heavenly power. Again, I
will use the example of Christ: While He was whipped & lashed & put on
a cross; Christ could have called down twelve
legions of angels to rescue Him & destroy His enemies [Matthew 26:53].
In other words, His act of mercy & meekness is perceived as weak or even
stupid by human standards, but within the confines of Christianity,
understanding Christ’s sacrifice for us, it is the most powerful & profound
action ever recorded in human history. This coincides with Matthew 5:5. It also
helps explain why love always triumphs. Though you can take advantage of love,
beat up love, attack love, even physically kill a loving person; love always
triumphs- it always wins. Is it coincidence that every Hollywood movie plays
out this way? No, the incredible power of Christian virtue [love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, etc.] is engrained in the very DNA of humanity- that is why
we see it in Hollywood films & children’s bedtime stories alike. It is a
paradoxical truth we were born understanding. Some of us simply need to regain
this knowledge.
3.
To find stability & peace we must stop trying to control events in our
lives & let go & give it to Christ. It is only once we acquiesce to a
God more powerful than us that we are able to receive His aid & blessing.
This difficult practice is always the wiser decision. One of my favorite
rappers [Andy Mineo] sums it up perfectly: “You [God] wanna put treasures
inside my hands but you cease/because they’re clamped, holding onto sins I
won’t release.”
In closing, I hope that this begins
a conversation. The profundity of the Christian faith & its complexities
runs much deeper than two pages. But I pray that this begins to show us the
fallibility of human reason & thought. In the midst of terrible atrocity
& pain I can’t help but hear Christ whisper to us to draw near to him.
Paradoxes are so perplexing because
they often go against “logic” or “the way things work,” but when you live on a
globe that travels around a flaming ball of fire at roughly 66,600 miles per
hour… nothing is “logical.” This is a peculiar world- it’s time that we cease
to allow the peculiarities of God to limit our faith & trust in Him.
-MGB
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