A remote village in Ruwanda. On Wall Street in New York City. In the palace at Buckingham, England. At a university in Asia. Or, right where you are reading this blog. Christianity can be found in each of these places. That is an inspiring and strange thought isn't it?
How can one thing be both/and at the same time? A paradox is something absurd or contradictory. It is a statement, proposition, or situation that seems to be absurd or contradictory. A person or thing of opposite qualities.
In many ways the kingdom of God is a paradox. Be the judge for yourself. check out these contrasts in the scriptures:
HEAVY AND EASY - Matthew 11:30
DEATH AND LIFE - 2 Timothy 1:20
RICH AND POOR, MEEK AND GREAT, HUNGRY AND FILLED, PERSECUTION AND SAFETY - Matthew 5:3-11
SAVING AND LOSING - Luke 17:33
SERVICE AND AUTHORITY - Mark 10:45
In 2 Corinthians 6:4-10, Paul sums it all up with these great words,
I heard this story recently about a missionary who was in Ruwanda. He travelled into the outback villages of the poorest regions. Walking into a hut, he noticed these words written on the wall...'Yesu ana to sha'.
Translated, it means, 'Jesus is enough'. How could such a statement of abundance be true in such a place of poverty? That is the paradox of Christianity.
How can one thing be both/and at the same time? A paradox is something absurd or contradictory. It is a statement, proposition, or situation that seems to be absurd or contradictory. A person or thing of opposite qualities.
In many ways the kingdom of God is a paradox. Be the judge for yourself. check out these contrasts in the scriptures:
HEAVY AND EASY - Matthew 11:30
DEATH AND LIFE - 2 Timothy 1:20
RICH AND POOR, MEEK AND GREAT, HUNGRY AND FILLED, PERSECUTION AND SAFETY - Matthew 5:3-11
SAVING AND LOSING - Luke 17:33
SERVICE AND AUTHORITY - Mark 10:45
In 2 Corinthians 6:4-10, Paul sums it all up with these great words,
"We are approved in honor and dishonor, evil and good, as unknown and known, as sorrowing and rejoicing, as having nothing and yet being rich..."
I heard this story recently about a missionary who was in Ruwanda. He travelled into the outback villages of the poorest regions. Walking into a hut, he noticed these words written on the wall...'Yesu ana to sha'.
Translated, it means, 'Jesus is enough'. How could such a statement of abundance be true in such a place of poverty? That is the paradox of Christianity.
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