“Though you have not seen Jesus, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:8-9)
The paradoxical character of us as Christian is revealed constantly. For instance, we believe that we are now saved, nevertheless we expect to be saved later and we look forward joyfully to future salvation. We fear God but are not afraid of Him.
We feel overwhelmed and undone In God’s presence, yet there is nowhere we would rather be than in that presence. We know that we have been cleansed from our sin, yet we are painfully conscious that in our flesh dwells no good thing. We love supremely One whom he has never seen, and though we may be poor and lowly we talk familiarly with One who is King of all kings and Lord of all lords, and we aware of no unease in so doing.
We feel that we are in our own right altogether less than nothing, yet we believe without question that we are the apple of God’s eye and that for him the Eternal Son became flesh and died on the cross of shame. As Christian we are citizen of heaven and to that sacred citizenship we acknowledge our first allegiance; yet we should love our earthly country with this in mind: “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” (Romans 13:1)
Just a thought:
We are living in a paradox with our eyes of faith FIXED ON JESUS who is unseen. We are aliens surrounded by the evil of this world. We are pilgrims on our way home. IN IT ALL JESUS IS REAL AND WE ARE REALLY HIS.
Prayer
O God, my faith is fixed on You. I am Your child. You are my Father. With my hand in Yours I walk through the paradox of life.
Be blessed – Bill Stockham