The Paradox of Christianity

The never ending staircase, an example of a paradox

 par·a·dox  (pr-dks) n. 
1. A seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true



For many of us, we have had the basis of Christianity drilled into our heads at a young age. The Bible stories, the message of salvation, and the little nuances, phrases, and such are part of our everyday lives. Even if you weren't brought up in a Christian household, church culture is probably quite familiar to you because of the way it has penetrated our society. So, if I were to tell you that Christianity is unbelievably complex and mind-blowing, you might just brush it off. That's what I've been doing over the past few months. For me, things outside of my realm of understanding are very uncomfortable. So, I've been trying a horrible experiment; unconsciously, in my mind, I've been trying to minimize my faith into a feasible, neat little box.
But then, I started studying the book of Revelation with a group of my friends and I realized that true Christianity goes much, much farther than simple one-worded answers and formulaic approaches to our problems.

Christianity is a paradox.

Let me explain two of the hugest paradoxes that my friends and I have realized:

1. Christianity embraces grace and truth.
"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." John 1:17
 
Truth is defined as conformity to fact or actuality. In a Biblical context, this means that truth is conforming to the truths stated in the Bible. What are some of these truths?
"When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,  envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God."
Galatians 5:19-21
This whole passage explicitly states a truth: people who do any of these things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Yet, God also addresses a seemingly opposite issue in the Bible: grace. 
Grace is defined as "mercy, clemency, pardon"
A very well-known Bible passage covers this idea:
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:8-9
So somehow, there are these two concepts, truth and grace, sitting side-by-side in our faith. Wow. 

2. Joy and Suffering
"You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit."
1 Thessalonians 1:6

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
James 1:2-4

We are called to make the harder choice and starve our sinful natures, yet somehow this suffering is joyous...? Yet another paradox.

 So, what's the point of this confusion?
This is why: we need to feel uncomfortable. The moment we try to put Christianity into a formula or a set of instructions, we are losing all of this messiness. And I think that the messiness is supposed to be there because it reminds us that God is so much bigger than our understanding. It also lets us know that we need to be dependent on God in making decisions that involve any of these paradoxes. 
Why?
Well, try to answer these questions:
what is the balance between truth and grace? Should we as the church be condemning to sinners in truth or loving to them in grace? HOW MUCH should we accept from them?
How much suffering do we need to undertake to discover true joy? Is it wrong to enjoy things that aren't involved in suffering? Where do we need to go to step out of our comfort zones so we can begin the self-denial process? 
These questions all begin to arise if we start to think through the two paradoxes. But how do we answer them?
We go to God. We learn about His character and His desires for us. I think if we begin to do this, we can go forward in the Christian life in a radically different way. Instead of approaching everything with a formula, we can conquer everything in a case-by-case manner, going to God for help and guidance at every turn, yet preserving the messiness and confusion so we can always remember that our own understanding just doesn't get it.
That's why we need a God that's so much greater. 


"Lord of empty space
You breathe and then create
Before the earth was made
You are

The king of every age
Outside of time and space
The heavens speak Your name
You are
You are

Lord of brilliant light
You separate the night
And everything inside
You are

The one who calms the seas
And every part of me
With just a word you speak
You are
You are

So I give You all of me for all You are
Here I am
Take me apart
Well take me apart
Yeah I give You all of me for all You are
Here I am
Take me apart
Well take me apart now."
~You Are by Tenth Avenue North



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