If you buy two Dr. Martens shoes is that a pair-o’-docs? (A paradox, get it? Stop groaning.)

A paradox is a seemingly self-contradictory statement which may turn out to be true. Paradox is sometimes used to talk about God, because almost everything you say about God has another side that can seem contradictory. Here’s part of a paradoxical poem sometime attributed to Hilbert of Lavandin.

Thou art over all things and under all things,
Inside all things, but not included,
Outside all things, but not excluded,
Over all things, but not elevated,
Under all, but not subjugated.

Does that make your head spin? Good. Most time we try to pin things down about God absolutely, we are making a mistake. This is true when trying to explain the nature of the Holy Trinity. There is one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Going beyond that gets into trouble. Some want to explain it as saying that God the Father is really God and the Son and Holy Spirit are creations or emanations of God. Wrong! Some want to say there are really three Gods. Wrong! A mentor of mine said that if the church fathers who wrote the Nicene Creed tried to explain what they had done to their wives back home, they probably couldn’t have done it without committing a doctrinal error.

The rule to follow when talking about God is to say what you can and then shut up. Worship God rather than explain God. Live with the paradox. Live with the mystery.

Read Psalm 91:1-2 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne