*this month has been full of out of town trips, out of town company, and construction. So please enjoy this throwback edition of The Paradox Paper!*
Welcome to The Paradox Paper, a monthly newsletter that honors the everyday paradox of a life with Jesus. If a friend forwarded you this email, click here to subscribe:
On Writing, Stephen King
If you love to write and you want to do it as well as you can, I can now agree with the a whole world of writing experts and tell you to read this book. In his sparse, every-man writing style King answered such pressing questions as, "How do I make sure that my reader sees this scenario exactly as I do?" (answer: you don't) and "Do I let this profanity stay or write it out?" (answer: depends). Bonus, King reads the audio version himself, and the Maine accent is so fun.
The Next Right Thing, Emily P. Freeman
My dad just finished reading this, making him the last member of our family to do so. LISTEN. You need to let Emily tell you how to make decisions. When Trevor read it he called her, “Siri for your soul.” Who doesn't need that?
Yesterday
A mediocre musician wakes up one morning to find that The Beatles have been wiped out of history, and he's the only one who remembers them. It's the biggest of big breaks, but is integrity too high a price for money and fame? Bonus, Ed Sheeran cameo. We loved this. Available to rent on Amazon Prime.
Troop Zero
An unlikely gaggle of swamp children enter a Girl-Scout-esque competition and hijinks ensue. This movie is hilarious, tender, and well-acted. I laughed, I cried, it moved me, Bob. Free on Amazon Prime.
Ps. 63:3, "Your unfailing love is better than life itself..."
Ps. 65:5, "You are the hope of everyone on earth, even those who sail on distant seas."
These two Psalms are written by David, the second and arguably greatest king of Israel. They each sparked separate yet related questions for me.
How would David have known about God's love? He wasn't a priest. Before the whole king gig he'd been an outlaw, a warrior, a sword-for-hire, and before that, a shepherd. He wouldn't have had access to the Scriptures, and even if he had, the emphasis would have been on God's law, not His love. So how would David have known God was loving without fail?
How would David have known that the hope of God is for everyone on earth? The understanding of his day was that God was hope for the Israelites, death and destruction for everyone else. And David was king of Israel! You'd think he'd be all in on the "God's chosen people" bit.
I found my answer when I turned the question on myself. Before I'd seen it play out in my own life, how did I know that God's love never fails, and that it is meant for everyone, even people who aren't like me?
Answer: my parents told me. They told me their stories, their history with God. They told me the specific ways He'd come through for them, how He'd been faithful and forgiving, how He'd healed and freed them.
How did David know? Great-Grandma told him. She told him how she came to Israel, a widowed foreigner and an enemy, with a mother-in-law whose faith had soured inside her like so much forgotten milk. She told him how they were outcast and desolate, with no prospects and no hope. Until one day when God brought her to work in Great-Grandpa's fields. God's love never fails. The hope of everyone on earth.
David the mighty warrior-king wrote millennia-enduring poetry about the unfailing love and all-inclusive hope of God, because his immigrant, female, former idol-worshipping Grandma Ruth told him her story.
I guess our stories matter too.
Oh Christ who makes Himself at home:
In the womb, in the wilderness, in the temple, in the brokenness;
With giggly children, with begging men, with empire soldiers, with leading women;
In our bodies, in our weakness, with our doubts, and all our grievances,
You have leaned back and settled in, declaring, "This is Mine. I belong here."
Jesus, remind us:
In Your words, in Your wounds, in Your tears, in the tomb;
With Your kindness, Your humility, with Your courage, and Your equity;
In Your Body, in Your wholeness, with Your safety, and Your Oneness,
We can lean back, settle in, and sigh, "This is mine. I belong here."
Hold the paradox. Don’t panic. See you next month!
-Steph
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Love the part about David!! I just taught a camp class about Jesus’ genealogy. One day was about Rahab and Ruth and how they proved the Gospel is for everyone (which the kids dubbed, “God’s not racist.”