The Paradox of God's Nature

Everything changes all the time. We grow older, the nature of our communities changes. Our culture is changing so fast and in so many ways we can hardly keep up with it. The world that we live in, by its very nature, changes incessantly.

We don't like change very much. Sometimes we hate it. We like things to stay the same. This is particularly true of our religion. When it comes to Sunday morning, for example, we like things to stay exactly the same. There is a saying in the United Methodist Church that we are ready for the year 1950, and when 1950 rolls around, we will be primed for revitalization.

I am sure the disciples felt the same way that we did. And look at the incessant change that discipleship required for them. First, they had to abandon their livelihoods to follow Jesus. Then, they had to change the way that they thought. Jesus challenged conventional Jewish ways of thinking and forced them to accept new understandings about God, and about how they were to live in the world. Then, they were confronted by the crucifixion. Then, the resurrection. And just as they were starting to wrap their heads around the resurrection and what it meant, we arrive at the Day of Pentecost. In the story from Acts, we are told that it is about 9:00 in the morning. The disciples are sitting at home, they hear the sound of a mighty rushing wind, and suddenly, they are filled with the Holy Spirit. They look outside, and the crowd, composed of persons from many nations, can understand each other despite the fact that they are speaking different languages.

There is a paradox to God's nature. God is eternal, immutable, and unchangeable. And yet the universe that God created undergoes incessant and perpetual change. Planets are born and die. People grow up. Seasons change. Constant change is built into the nature of the world. And the way that God's Spirit relates to us mirrors the nature of God's created order. God does not want us to stay the same. The opposite is true. Through God's Spirit, God wants us to grow, to develop, and to mature in our discipleship. God wants to continually bring us new understandings, new visions, new journeys, and as the Church, God wants us to continually seek new ways of responding to God's call.

Discipleship is not about staying the same. Its about responding to the promptings of God's Spirit. If we are faithful, our lives will be as dynamic as the disciples. And if we are a faithful Church, we will not be consistent in our practice. In fact, the problem we will have is not trying to always do things the same, but trying not to be too experimental and dynamic.

The God of eternity who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, has a unique journey that He wants us to take with him. It will not be like the journey of the person sitting next to you in the pew. And it will not be like the journey of the disciples. It will be a new journey, unique to you. If we are faithful to God's Spirit and follow, there is no limit to the amount of good that we can do in this world.