contradictory God

this weekend as I was driving up the road to the ineffable Chapel Hill, I realized something more important than football games and Franklin St--I realized something about God, and how He speaks to my heart.

God is paradoxical. He is contradictory. He works in opposites.

Opposites that create incomprehensible harmony and perfection. Sense out of absolute mystery.

this realization hit me when i was listening to a cd in the car. the line of the song (called "Glory" by ROF) reflects nothing deeply theological or doctrinal, but rather a personal encounter with God that reflects the duality of His nature: "You are the thunder in the sky/You are the shelter through the night"

how can one Being be both the power and the protection? i think it's just that: no one but God Himself can encompass such definite opposites, such paradoxical attributes.

there are countless other instances of our contradictory God. this weekend at Bible Church, Pastor Mark made an interesting statement: only God can save you from God. only His salvation can save you from His justice. check out a verse like Joshua 24:20 before heading over to Romans 8:1 to catch my drift.

what is man that You are mindful of Him? (Psalm 8:4) the God who crafted the universe with His hands (Ps. 24:1-2, Ps. 33:9) still cares enough to know our every thought (Psalm 139:13, 16). wretched undeservedness meets undeserved affection.

Jesus makes known this aspect of the divine nature in His teachings--for example, the commonly quoted, "the first will be last and the last will be first" (Luke 13:30, Matt. 19:30, Mark 10:31). even simpler: His love for the ones everyone else expected Him to disdain. prostitues and thieves at the feet of the greatest King the world would ever know. and one of my favorite Bible verses of all encapsulates the character and unique mission of Christ in a beautiful riddle of paradoxes: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich" (2 Cor. 8:9)

And therein lies the greatest contradiction of them all: grace isn't fair--but it's WE who get the benefit of the doubt. Grace isn't fair in our favor. The greatest paradox in the story of our salvation is that a sinless Savior died for the wildly sinful souls of humankind.

open the Bible and look for yourself. what are some other contradictory aspects of our God that make you cry "holy" ? i'd love to know how He touches your heart.