It doesn't have to make sense.
Friends, I'm going to try and write this post as coherently as I possibly can, but fair warning: the stuff I'm about to say is TRIPPY and it's probably going to sound a little out there. This is the deep end, people. Buckle up.
So I've been noticing a lot of seemingly opposite things in my life that are somehow both true and real, and yet... separate. They don't really make any sense. Let me explain. A pretty common example is spurred by the age-old question,
"Is God in control, or does man have free will?"
The short answer is "Well, both..." right?
But how?
How can God be in charge of EVERYTHING and yet I can choose the shirt I put on each morning? Or bigger decisions, too! I can choose where to go to college or what jobs to apply for, or who to date. Me. I can decide that. But doesn't God know every page in my book, before I even think or say anything? How is that possible? It has to be one or the other, right?
Or what about how God is a God of grace AND truth.
He forgives us, but is also a God of truth an justice and fairness. How? Doesn't forgiveness mean I'm... well... forgiven? Doesn't truth imply there's a sense of falsehood out there, too, and if I'm not careful, I can fall into sin? But... I'm forgiven, so that makes it okay? Oh wait... no? It's not okay to keep living outside of God's truth, and there are consequences for my sin? But what about forgiveness? They're too different things, aren't they? It doesn't make sense.
And let's talk for a minute about surrender. Is it giving up, or giving in? I know that in order to surrender, I am fully laying everything down at the feet of Jesus... and then what? Do I just sit idly, waiting for Him to do something? I did my part, right? I surrendered. So what am I supposed to do now? Isn't faith without works DEAD?
There are so, so many times in my faith where I'm confronted with two seemingly opposing approaches to following Jesus. And it doesn't make any sense! My brain works in a super black and white way, (see one of my previous posts,) and it's actually really hard for me to think through what a "both" solution can look like, practically. In the real world. Right now.
Do I wait for God to move, or should I? Do I wait on Him and practice patience, or work and walk (in confidence!) with Jesus?
I don't really know the answer, to be honest. And I started writing today not to answer the question but to just get it written down so I can more clearly think and pray about it.
What does following Jesus actually look like... what is required of me? Does it all even HAVE to make sense anyway?
This verse just came to mind, so I'll leave it below:
Micah 6:8 - What God is Looking For (The Message)
But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love,And don’t take yourself too seriously— take God seriously.
The NIV puts it this way:
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
I don't think God is asking us to know all the answers. In fact, if the ONLY thing God requires of us is to walk with Him and love people, than a lot of us are pretty solid. I would venture to say that these questions... the faith & works, trust & obey, grace & truth, play & purpose questions... exist because God wants us to grow closer to Him by digging deeper and inching closer to the heart of it all.
In short: It doesn't have to make sense.
A wise man once sent me an excerpt of a book written by another wise man:
Destiny isn't something you discover by seeking it. It's a by-product. You don't find it by looking for it. You find it by looking for God. Then your destiny finds you.
-Mark Batterson, Chase the Lion
Here's to trusting and questioning & waiting and running.
Yep, makes sense to me.
So I've been noticing a lot of seemingly opposite things in my life that are somehow both true and real, and yet... separate. They don't really make any sense. Let me explain. A pretty common example is spurred by the age-old question,
"Is God in control, or does man have free will?"
The short answer is "Well, both..." right?
But how?
How can God be in charge of EVERYTHING and yet I can choose the shirt I put on each morning? Or bigger decisions, too! I can choose where to go to college or what jobs to apply for, or who to date. Me. I can decide that. But doesn't God know every page in my book, before I even think or say anything? How is that possible? It has to be one or the other, right?
Or what about how God is a God of grace AND truth.
He forgives us, but is also a God of truth an justice and fairness. How? Doesn't forgiveness mean I'm... well... forgiven? Doesn't truth imply there's a sense of falsehood out there, too, and if I'm not careful, I can fall into sin? But... I'm forgiven, so that makes it okay? Oh wait... no? It's not okay to keep living outside of God's truth, and there are consequences for my sin? But what about forgiveness? They're too different things, aren't they? It doesn't make sense.
And let's talk for a minute about surrender. Is it giving up, or giving in? I know that in order to surrender, I am fully laying everything down at the feet of Jesus... and then what? Do I just sit idly, waiting for Him to do something? I did my part, right? I surrendered. So what am I supposed to do now? Isn't faith without works DEAD?
There are so, so many times in my faith where I'm confronted with two seemingly opposing approaches to following Jesus. And it doesn't make any sense! My brain works in a super black and white way, (see one of my previous posts,) and it's actually really hard for me to think through what a "both" solution can look like, practically. In the real world. Right now.
Do I wait for God to move, or should I? Do I wait on Him and practice patience, or work and walk (in confidence!) with Jesus?
I don't really know the answer, to be honest. And I started writing today not to answer the question but to just get it written down so I can more clearly think and pray about it.
What does following Jesus actually look like... what is required of me? Does it all even HAVE to make sense anyway?
This verse just came to mind, so I'll leave it below:
Micah 6:8 - What God is Looking For (The Message)
But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love,And don’t take yourself too seriously— take God seriously.
The NIV puts it this way:
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
I don't think God is asking us to know all the answers. In fact, if the ONLY thing God requires of us is to walk with Him and love people, than a lot of us are pretty solid. I would venture to say that these questions... the faith & works, trust & obey, grace & truth, play & purpose questions... exist because God wants us to grow closer to Him by digging deeper and inching closer to the heart of it all.
In short: It doesn't have to make sense.
A wise man once sent me an excerpt of a book written by another wise man:
Destiny isn't something you discover by seeking it. It's a by-product. You don't find it by looking for it. You find it by looking for God. Then your destiny finds you.
-Mark Batterson, Chase the Lion
Here's to trusting and questioning & waiting and running.
Yep, makes sense to me.
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