Faithfulness in Tensions and Contention
Paulus’s letters are filled with carefully constructed contradictions. He speaks much of the tensions between flesh and Spirit, of weakness and strength, of law and grace. These tensions are the basis for the human side of his theology. He quotes Jesus, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paulus is exhorting us to abandon our former thoughts which formed how we used to think about ourselves, and crucify our former notions through the power wielded in Jesus.
Note Paulus’s warnings against works of the flesh, while simultaneously cautioning that even the most devout can fall back into sin if they don’t take care and guard their hearts and minds. This takes a deep understanding of these weaknesses. These concepts about humanity are less about immediate utopia and more about promoting the path through wilderness. Our faith is not in denial of our tendency towards failure or “fixing” human weakness, but learning to walk with it in Christ, on guard and aware of how people become so ensnared.
In Paulus’s use of paradox to underline moderation, he plainly stands against modern notions of strength in the forms of correctness, dominance, or absoluteness. The human side of his theology is rooted in repentant admission and dissection of our particular sinfulness, so as to better understand our weaknesses. The human mind thrives on resolution, but life is rarely so precisely linear. Paulus’s writings suggest that growth often comes through moderating contradictions rather than trying to erase them from memory or focus. Contradictions are to be overcome, for contention with their meanings. If we truly have faith in God’s plan, then most of those contradictions will produce meaning.
In the age of solipsistic individualism and trends toward over-simplification, Paulus’s teachings offer the greatest counterbalance. We are not islands, but part of larger narratives where our flaws are opportunities for grace to function, if we let it and we focus. The striving does not earn our salvation however, as Paulus makes perfectly clear, it’s about living in alignment with salvation, for the greater salvation of every person. Paulus told us to win the race, and to win people over through their own cultures. Submission to God’s plan is not a passive surrender, but active participation in divine purpose. Finally coming to terms with our weaknesses is in the admission and repentance, offering an open invitation to ever deepening faith, as well as ease in forgiveness.
We have the mind of Christ with us, and we are secured in it, so we merely need to extend this into all domains of our lives to improve them, regardless what happens.