The Paradoxes of Faith

“You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3

“Those who love their life lose it,

and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” John 12:25

Dear Friends,

On Sunday, I told the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and about how God delivered them from the fiery furnace. It is a story that urges us to stand firm in our faith and to stay focused on worshiping and serving God alone. One of the questions that I raised in my reflection is, Do we trust that by putting our trust in God and serving God alone we will actually gain our lives? 

This is just one of the many “paradoxes” of faith. The word, paradox, comes from the Greek:

                Para- (παρά): Means "beside," "beyond," or "contrary to".

                Doxa (δόξα): Means "opinion," "belief," or "judgment". 

A paradox is something that seems contrary to what we think and also doesn’t seem to make sense!

For example, we can understand:

1.       If we die, we’re dead.

2.       The more we serve, the less free we are.

3.       If we give something away, we have less of it.

4.       If we are stronger, we have more power.

5.       The better we live, the holier we are.

The life of faith, however, calls us to believe in these paradoxes:

1.       If we die to ourselves, we gain our lives.

2.       To be truly free, we choose to serve God and be a servant of all.

3.       The more we give away, the more we gain.

4.       The power of God was revealed in Jesus’ “weakness” on the cross.

5.       We are holy only because God forgives our sins and declares us “holy.”

Each of these are paradoxes or mysteries of the life of faith. They are derived from the living Word found in the Bible… and I find that I’m never done struggling with them and living my life by them! Each one has its own insight and truth to provide:

1.       Dying to live – Our egos don’t want to die. Richard Rohr (and others) describe “ego” as our “false self.” It keeps our true self (our child-of-God-ness) from being who we are. Martin Luther says this old, sinful Adam (Eve) is a good swimmer and must be drowned daily!

2.       Serving to be free – We hate having anyone tell us what to do! On the other hand, when we commit ourselves and completely give ourselves to God, the world opens up for us to be truly free to love. It is sort of like committing to a training program to run a marathon. If one decides everyday whether they are going to do the prescribed run or not, it is a few months of suffering. When one just does what the plan says, it is actually quite freeing because the dithering and questioning is gone. It’s no longer the “if” but the “how.”

3.       Giving away gives one more – Pastor Laura calls this one of the spiritual laws. When one gives love, there is more love in one’s life. When one forgives, there is more forgiveness in one’s life. When one is generous, there is more generosity in one’s life. Some will try to quantify this around money saying that the money one gives to God will come back monetarily tenfold (or something like that). I’m leery of that kind of “quid pro quo” with regards to God, but I do know that sacrificial giving provides abundance!

4.       God’s power is revealed in weakness – Martin Luther called this the Theology of the Cross. Our world says Might makes right (and aren’t we seeing the world saying this these days?). When it seemed like the Roman war machine had efficiently crushed Jesus underfoot, the resurrection revealed the real power of the real God. The power of God is love revealed in forgiveness, compassion, service, humility, obedience and faithfulness. If we seek God in all the “glorious” places of our society and culture, we will encounter only pale imitations and false idols.

5.       Saints because God says so – Romans tells us that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We love to do the comparison games where we look around and say, “At least I’m not as bad as ______.” When we can embrace our own limitations and sinfulness, then we can also claim the forgiveness and holiness that God bestows on us. This makes us—as Martin Luther would call it—simultaneously saint and sinner.

I hope this little foray into the paradoxes of faith gives you fodder for your spiritual, devotional and prayer life.

Peace,

Pastor Phil