One of the aspects of my faith that has always been intriguing to me is the paradoxes that exist within it. The continuous sense that we get from Scripture that there exists a now but not yet is especially interesting to me. We Jesus speaks of the kingdom, we see a lot of that "now but not yet" concept. Another paradox that has recently come to me is the reality of the Lord being with us, yet also going ahead.
Recently I had a discussion with a friend who indicated that he had quite a good conversation with the Lord on a recent walk that he took. He mentioned to me that it had been a long time since he had a good chat with the Lord. He thanked me for helping him recently learn once again that we should have chats with God. I told him that I was very happy that he had a rewarding conversation with the Lord and then I said to him, "Remember, the Lord is always there and anxiously waiting to have a chat with you whenever you are ready." The idea that wherever we are, the Lord is there is a very comforting thought. But in addition to that reality, the eager waiting the Lord does for those times when we are ready to have a chat is an even more amazing reality to me. It is that idea of the Lord always being there and ready to have a chat that is the first side of this paradox.
Another recent conversation that I had with my mother brings the other side of the paradox home to me. She had indicated that as she was dealing with some challenges in her life that she also had a conversation with the Lord. After I listened to her share, I told her that the Lord was already ahead of her on dealing with those challenges. I mentioned that God goes ahead of us and prepares the aspects of life that need prepared for our journey. So this creates the image of the Lord going ahead of where we are on the path.
These two conversations together give two different, but I believe accurate, images of our Lord on the journey of life. God is with us and ready to take the time to chat, God is ahead of us and preparing for us. This paradox in the reality of our Lord is only possible because God is not bound by time and the constraints that exist in our human existence.
I find this paradox to be extremely wonderful. The idea that the Lord is always there and ready to talk things out with me, and the idea that the Lord is already where I am heading and preparing the way, is an idea that gives me great comfort and assurance. What an awesome God we truly have!!!!
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