When God doesn’t make sense.
God showed the depth of his grace through a motorcycle. I’d ridden a dirtbike once, didn’t even know how to shift. Then “Easy Rider” captivated me with the freedom of the open road, so I bought a Honda 350 Scrambler with plans to head to Canada to see a college roommate. I knew nothing, and a month after the purchase I took off. An idiot. But I became a sponge, reading motorcycle mags, talking to experienced riders. And during every ride, I’d analyze what worked, what didn’t. How to set up a curve safely to do it fast. How to brake most effectively without flipping or laying down the bike. And the experts proclaimed you need to lean the bike into a turn. OK, that worked.
But an article said something that didn’t make sense: to turn right, push on the left handlebar. They called this counter steering. I wondered about these dummies that wrote the articles—had they ever actually ridden a bike? Even so, the next time out I started to try it, and realized that I’d already been doing it, almost instinctively. Honestly, it seems backward, but it works. To turn left, push the right handlebar. Actually, it worked much better than just leaning!
We call that a paradox, two opposing ideas that seem to contradict each other, but both remain true. Following Jesus is filled with these. Some appear contradictory to science and common sense: like the virgin birth, with no sperm to join the egg. Others contradict one another in the same sentence, like Jesus saying, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it” (Matthew 16:25). Yet more paradoxes have one verse appearing to contradict another, such as “Do not judge…” (Matthew 7:1) and John 7:24, “…make a right judgment.”
So how do we resolve these? Can we? Be assured, this will involve some thinking and work, but the return will bless us. Here comes 4 brief tips.
1 Look at the broader context, and be cautious about using part of a verse and not the whole. Frankly, I kind of cherry picked those verses on judging, if you look at them both in the whole and in the context of surrounding verses, it becomes more clear. The broader the context the deeper the comprehension. Yes, a good concordance will help, as will cross references in a good study Bible. I use the NIV Study Bible.
2 Understand the inherent ambiguity in words, the meaning can change based on the context. So examine that.
3 Primarily, grasp that the infinite, transcendent Creator knows and sees far more than we. I sometimes feel like an ant trying to comprehend Einstein. We must accept the Creator’s perspective dwarfs ours.
4 Embrace paradoxes, don’t try to ignore them, but allow them to lead you to a broader and deeper understanding of matters of faith.
Kick Starting the Application
How do you typically respond to paradoxes? Do you read right past them and dampen your curiosity? Have you seen them as giving motivation to dig deeper into God’s word? What paradoxes give you the most trouble?