Living Paradox

 Paradox: Any person, thing or situation exhibiting an apparent contradictory nature

Playing sports exposes a dilemma for me. I think I have to make a choice - clever and tough or measured and well-behaved. The fact: I want to win. The question: Can I be both?

Work life brings no less a challenge - make the choice to create a demanding environment or a supportive one in order to produce excellence. This dilemma is called the tyranny of the either / or.

I can at times be paralyzed feeling that the choice is either / or and not both / and. When I can unlock the mystery wrapped in the genius of the both / and, surprising truth is often revealed.

Jesus frequently laid before us paradox as a way to understand how the eternal touches the temporal when he told us:

• True greatness comes through humility
• Strength is often revealed in weakness
• Deferring to others is another way of being first

Amazingly these truths of "living paradoxes" sound hard to believe...but they are Jesus’ ideas. He referred to many paradoxical truths as He walked the earth. They are astounding and stop us in our tracks. The mysterious truths that paradoxes reveal can only be fully understood when viewed through the eyes of God - an eternal perspective. This week, dare we deeply consider the living paradox...

...For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will save it. Luke 9:24

Sharing the journey with you,