OVER the years, I have been working on a little side project, an idea for a teaching tool that came out of a JR Miller devotional reading from Grace Gems.
THERE is much in the Christian life that is hard to come to grips with, paradoxes that don’t seem to go together, yet do. One needs only to read the Proverbs to find many enigmas and riddles in the quest to attain wisdom and understanding that tax our thinking (Prov. 1: 5&6). There is a reason why Jesus taught with parables, things easily learned are quickly forgotten.
WHAT is a paradox? It is an apparently absurd or self-contradictory statement, an observation or proposition that when investigated or explained may in the final analysis prove to be well founded and true.
I LIKE the idea Mnemonics devices that help one organize, retain, and recall information. There are a myriad of such systems from the simple use of musical tunes to acronyms. Without going into how I got here, I came up with the simple use of a coin and its two sided features that represent what I’m beginning to call Kingdom Coins. On each side there is a different imprint and in my metaphor seemly opposing or opposite principles that work together, paradoxical statements or apparent oxymoron principles that are inseparable upon deeper reflection and analysis. What is an oxymoron? It is a combination of contradictory or incongruous words or ideas such as “cruel kindness,” that are broadly self-contradictory. You don’t have to look far in Scripture examples like “laboring in rest” (Heb. 4), “joyful suffering” (James 1:2; 1Pet 1:6) and so on. These are just a start of what I call currency of the realm, or Kingdom Coins, things that don’t seem to go together, yet do and are proof of authenticity and true citizenship when held in treasured possession, valued and lived out in faith; cashed in, as it were, in our daily transactions and circumstantial encounters of every kind.
SO here’s a test question. How do you react when you are mistreated, misunderstood, or wronged? Do you really believe God means it for good? (Read Gen 50:20) Consider how Rom. 8:28 could be minted into a Kingdom Coin. And if so, what would be inscribed on either side? What paradox or incongruous words would be imprinted? That verse is one of the most oft recited verses, and often overlooked in the greater context of vv29.
WELL, with that, here is today’s consideration from None But the Hungry Heart, volume 5-15 – The First Cause. …Enjoy.
In the inexorable riches of Christ,
Joe
Neh. 8:10; Isa 30:15; Job 2:10; Jas. 1:2; Prov. 21:30
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5-15. The First Cause
“A man’s goings are established of Jehovah; and he delighteth in His way” (Ps. 37:23, ASV.).
Throughout time and eternity the God of circumstances has every situation planned for our good and for His glory (Rom. 8:28, 29). That is all that should matter to us. “Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee” “For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God” (Ps. 76:10; 2 Cor. 4:15).
“What the other person said or did to you was undoubtedly wrong and cannot be justified. Nor did he do it at God’s direction; but God permitted him to do it for some wise reason which will yet prove to have been abundantly worthwhile for you. By the time that action reached you it had become the will of God for you, since to a yielded believer there are no second causes.
“He believes the Psalmist’s declaration that every step of his life’s pathway has been ordered by the Lord. No trial or affliction can reach you who are abiding in Him, without His permission. You can, therefore, be confident in every circumstance of life, however baffling, that it has been permitted in your own best interest by the wisest and most loving of fathers, who knows our ‘load-limit’ (1 Cor. 10:13).” -O.S.
“All that we pass through is that we may get a fresh view of the Lord Jesus, or a deepening of a former one; but often we are so occupied with ourselves and the circumstances, that we fail to ‘behold the glory of the Lord.’“ -C.T.
“Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth him with His hand” (Ps. 37:24).
