The paradoxes of Christianity

Christianity is kind of crazy.

Don't believe me?  Just read the Beatitudes.  The meek shall inherit the earth.  Huh?  The meek?  Yeah, them.

Jesus tells us:
Become a slave to find freedom.
Die to be born anew.
Suffer to find deeper joy.
Give yourself away to be full.
Find joy in persecution.

Weird.

But really, it's not weird.  It's just greater than me and you and greater than human instinct and desire and wisdom.  It's beautiful, really, what the Lord does:

For since in the wisdom of God the world did not come to know God through wisdom, it was the will of God through the foolishness of the proclamation to save those who have faith. (1 Corinthians 1:21)

He makes worldly wisdom worthless, so that man should not boast.  He makes His wisdom (the cross) seem foolish so that faith is necessary to believe.

And St. Paul gets it.  He says, For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning (1 Corinthians 1:17).  The Cross of Christ speaks for itself.  No need for fancy rhetoric or eloquent wording.  It's quite easy to get caught up in that stuff, though, especially here in the Ivy Leagues.  Blah.


For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2: 2)

Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.  Nothing else matters if not for Him.  And because of Him, we can find joy in suffering, we can find freedom in conforming (to His will), we can find new life in death to ourselves.

Thank you, Jesus!