Solving a Paradox: Part 1

Early in my Christian life, I encountered a conundrum that I

couldn’t solve for some time. As an enthusiastic new believer, I

was very keen to make the best use of the opportunities I had

to actively serve the Lord.

Books and sermons urged me to “Go” and the Lord propelled me

forward to participate in church services and youth work, attend Bible

conventions and training events, evangelise door-to-door, etc.

But along the way, I heard something different. While God seemed

to be saying “Go”, He also seemed to interrupt my Christian activism

from time to time with a puzzling command to “Wait” or “Be still”.

Then I would retreat into a contemplative cocoon, seeking to

understand what God wanted me to do. I could get into a rhythm

of going and being still if the instructions to do so came at regular

intervals. But if they alternated in a frequent and disruptive fashion,

then it got very tiring. This might be similar to fitness training for

rugby players, where the coach asks them to sprint then stop suddenly

in frequent bursts over an extended period of time.

I complained to God that this did not make sense to me. It should

be either “Go” for a decent length of time or “Be still” in a similar way,

but not in the contradictory way His messages seemed to be. I found

God’s answer to be quite puzzling: “My messages are not contradictory.

You can go and be still at the same time.”

Some years later I was reading Luke 15, about the good shepherd

who left his 99 sheep to find a single lost sheep. The text describes what

happened when the loving shepherd and lost sheep meet. “And when

he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home” (Luke

15:5-6). Then, suddenly God’s puzzling comment became clearer.

It struck me that the sheep the shepherd found was both going

home, and lying still. It would not be going if it was not still, and it

would not be still if it was not going. I realised that there is a place

where one can go and yet be still – and that place is the Shepherd’s

shoulder. My conundrum was solved – at least in theory.

Next: My next challenge was to experience this paradox of being still and

yet going at the same time. What would it mean, in practical terms, to

be on the Shepherd’s shoulder?

Part 2 coming up next week. Stay connected. For Reflection:

What are some paradoxes in your own Christian life that you have struggled with? How have you tried to understand or live with them?