FEAR NOT THE PARADOX [Part 3]

In light of the above referenced prayer, we should not hesitate to consult a good Bible commentary (or a recommended paraphrased Bible) to assist us in understanding paradoxical verses we encounter. There is also NO substitute for an excellent study Bible. Grappling with biblical paradoxes alerts us to the need for more in-depth study—and that’s a good thing!

Paradoxes should be welcomed, not avoided, because they expand our view of how we’ve
previously thought about a verse and what it may be saying to us about a biblical truth or principle. Check out just a few of these paradoxes [paraphrased]: Matthew 11:30 says “My yoke is easy;” while Matthew 7:14 declares,” How difficult the road that leads to life. Romans 3:28 says “A person is justified by faith apart from works of the law;” while James 2:24 says “A person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” Anyone confused over the paradox of the faith- and- works duality needs only to ponder the context—James 2:14-24—to discover an example of how the Bible often reconciles its own paradoxical precepts! The Apostle Peter asserts in 1 Peter 1:17 that “The Father judges impartially according to each one’s work”; while John 5:22 declares that “The Father, in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son.” Jesus’ bold assertion in John 10:30—“I and My Father are one” should quell any confusion over any seeming contradictions between those verses; after all, did not that very declaration incense His Jewish enemies in John, chapter 10; they perfectly understood our Lord’s claim to deity! I love the way one writer described scriptural paradoxes. He declares that they “…help us to see God less as our personalized AAA map for life (with hazards highlighted), and more as the PURPOSE of the journey.” That purpose must be a more genuinely personal relationship.

Wisdom and understanding are so key to living out the Christian life that He has concentrated
these twin themes in the Book of Proverbs. Hear His appeal to us in Proverbs 2:3-5—“For if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord, AND DISCOVER THE KNOWLEDGE OF God.”

PRAYER: Dear Father, through searching the Scriptures, may we whom You have saved by Your grace, come to experience the true blessedness that results from a deeper understanding of Your Holy Word. As Your servant Daniel says, “ Those with insight understand” [Daniel 12:10] Thank You, in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
By Sis. Denise Diggs