Our Bible is full of paradoxical statements. The word ¡®paradox¡¯ came from two Greek words: ¡®para¡¯ meaning ¡®beyond¡¯ and ¡®doxa¡¯ meaning ¡®thinking.¡¯ Thus, paradoxical truth refers to a statement that lies beyond our understanding, that our reason cannot fully understand. The Webster¡¯s Dictionary defines the word ¡®paradox¡¯ in this way: ¡°A statement that seems contradictory, unbelievable or absurd but that may actually be true in fact.¡±
This word was coined as a result of the humble realization that we are limited in our language capability. This word also reminds us of the fact that our minds cannot understand the truth completely. The fact that we cannot understand something does not necessarily mean that it is wrong or false. Sometimes, we cannot understand because of our limitations in understanding.
For example, there is a Korean saying, ¡°To lose is to win¡± or ¡°To lose is to gain.¡± When I was a child, whenever I failed in something my mother used to comfort me saying, ¡°My son, to lose is to win. Don¡¯t worry. You are the winner.¡±
At that time, I couldn¡¯t quite understand the phrase. But I heard it again and again, I came to believe that it must be true somehow. It was when I grew up that I came to understand this saying fully and agree on it.
Last week, I read an article about Mr. John Profumo, a former Secretary of War for England. In his forties Mr. Profumo became one of the most influential figures in British politics. He was one of the most promising candidates for prime minister at that time. Then it was revealed that he had an affair with a call girl, and he resigned from his position in disgrace. It appeared that his life had collapsed. It was a death penalty for his social life. It was the kind of situation in which many people are tempted to commit suicide.
About a year following his public disgrace, Profumo became an unpaid helper at Toynbee Hall. He started as a dishwasher there and worked in a social club for alcoholics. This work was a self-designed ritual for the purification of his sins. He worked faithfully and diligently without aiming for any position or reward. Because of this commitment, he soon became a fund-raiser for the charity, and then its chairman, and eventually the president of Toynbee Hall. Last week, he was officially and publicly honored for his whole-hearted dedication to charity at the age of 88, almost 40 years after his public disgrace.
The saying ¡®To lose is to win¡¯ or ¡®To lose is to gain¡¯ rings true when we read Profumo¡¯s story. When he was disgraced and resigned his prestigious positions, it seemed as if he had lost everything. Now, it is very clear that through that failure he was led to a more meaningful life. When he humbly and honestly admitted his mistakes and courageously shouldered all costs, his failure became a gateway to true success of life. In today¡¯s text, we hear a famous paradoxical statement Paul wrote. In verse 9, he says ¡°my power is made perfect in weakness¡± and in verse 10 ¡°I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.¡± What a powerful paradox this is!
What do you delight in? We delight when things are going very well, when our children are doing well in school or in business, when our financial condition is getting better, and when we succeed in something. We delight in strength, in praise, in recognition, in prosperity, and in promotion. We are discouraged, on the other hand, in weaknesses, in failure, in insults, in hardships and in difficulties.
Paul speaks of another way. He delights in what may bring discouragement. When everything is going well with him by the world¡¯s standards, Paul becomes watchful. That is why he says, ¡°So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don¡¯t fall¡± (I Corinthians 10:12).
There are at least two reasons why Paul delights in difficult situations and gives thanks to God. Thinking about these reasons teaches us how to give thanks to God on this meaningful holiday of Thanksgiving.
First, Paul is aware of the abundant blessings God has given him. In verse 7, Paul says that God gave him ¡°a thorn in the flesh.¡± We do not know what kind of disease he refers to here, but it is very clear that this disease has tormented him for a long time without ceasing.
In verse 8, Paul says, ¡°Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.¡± Paul brought this problem to God through prayer three times and then stopped.
Why did he stop praying about the pain? We find one reason in verse 9: ¡°But he [God] said to me, ¡®My grace is sufficient for you.¡¯¡± God turned Paul¡¯s attention from his physical pain to the blessings he had received. God had lavishly blessed Paul by saving him from eternal condemnation, by delivering him from sinful deeds against the church, by giving the Holy Spirit to him with many gifts, by appointing him as an apostle to the Gentiles, and by enabling him to lead numerous souls to Jesus Christ. When Paul realized all these blessings, he could give thanks to God in spite of this ever-harassing pain.
What is your pain that makes you unhappy and shatters your grateful heart? Is it a physical pain? Is it a relational problem? Is it a financial problem?
Whatever it may be, would you take time now to turn your attention from that problem to the blessings God has already given to you? Count your blessings?the blessing of life, the blessing of people who share your lives, the blessing of a church family, the blessing of a place to live, the blessing of work, and, most of all, the blessing of salvation in Christ from eternal condemnation and death.
When we look at these blessings and really appreciate them, our hearts will be filled with gratitude in spite of unhappy things. A German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, ¡°It is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.¡± When we feel gratitude in our hearts and express it to the right person, it will benefit us.
Thanksgiving Sunday and Thanksgiving Day are days when we give thanks to God and others. The primary beneficiary of our thanksgiving is we ourselves. The more we give thanks, the more our hearts are filled with happiness.
God is calling you to turn your attention from your problems to your blessings. God is calling you to appreciate your blessings and give thanks to Him and others for your own benefit. Today, God wants to see that you become richer through this kind of worship.
Second, Paul stopped praying regarding his physical pain because, as he mentioned in verse 9, he realized that his ¡°power is made perfect in weakness.¡± He continues to say in the following verses,
Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,
So that Christ¡¯s power may rest on me.
That is why, for Christ¡¯s sake, I delight in weaknesses,
In insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.
For when I am weak, then I am strong.
A paradoxical statement is intended to shock its listeners. Explaining the paradoxical statement is a foolish thing to do because it eliminates the shocking force of the statement. Rather, we¡¯d best keep it in mind and wait until we come to a full realization of its meaning.
I am weighing between whether I should become the fool by explaining the paradox or become a wise man by stopping my sermon here. May I stop here? May I become the fool?
Well, would you look at verse 11 of today¡¯s text? There, Paul said, ¡°I have made a fool of myself, but you drove me to it.¡± If you push me to be a fool, I will become one for a brief time. But I¡¯d rather take the middle path, that is, the path to share my own experience regarding the paradoxical statement.
After 10 years of teaching at seminary, I began my pastoral ministry here in this church. It has been five months already. My aspirations for ministry are to become a true pastor, to help my congregation become true disciples of Jesus Christ, and to make our church a true community of faith. For 10 years I taught my students about pastoral ministry, about discipleship, about being and living as a pastor and about the church. I believe that it is time for me to practice what I taught.
With this aspiration, I have committed myself to ministry in this church. I am thrilled to be given this chance to practice my theory within this community. I am very serious about this ministry. I am pleading with God to enable me to build up a model church and model congregation in this town.
On the other hand, when I look at the reality of our church, I am not infrequently discouraged. We do not have sufficient money or many people. We are located in a highly populated Catholic town. There seems to be no visible sign for a promising future for our church in this town with the resources that we have now.
Whenever I face such negative feelings, I bring them to God through prayer. At this moment I have no place else to find hope for my ministry except for God. God is the only resource that I have for my ministry. That is why I turn to God whenever I feel hopeless. When I come to God and stay with Him, I become hopeful.
I give thanks to God for our weaknesses because they turn me to God and make me trust in God, God only. When I am with God, I can see a bright future for our church because He is the real source of power.
Our weakness becomes our strength when we trust in God. Our strength becomes our weakness when we trust in our own strength. That is why I am hopeful about my ministry here. I am sure that our church can be a visible sign of God¡¯s presence and love to the residents of this town as long as we trust in God¡¯s will and power.
Let me tell you this. Throughout the 2,000 years of the Christian church¡¯s history, churches have shown God¡¯s power when they were poor, weak and marginalized, while churches were corrupted and disgraced when they were rich, powerful and dominant. We are in the situation most favorable for revealing God¡¯s glory to the world. Our weakness is not something to complain about but something to appreciate and give thanks for.
I¡¯d like to ask you again. What are your problems? Think about Paul¡¯s paradoxical statement and my testimony, and look at your problems again. What are you going to do with them?
Bring them to God through prayer. Let them drive you to God. God may not solve your problems once and for all. God did not cure Paul¡¯s disease when he prayed, but changed his vision to see his problem anew. Likewise, God may not solve your problems but He may change your vision.
Then you also will be able to say, ¡°Yes, Paul was right. When I am weak, I am really strong. My problems are not problems. They are disguised blessings!¡±
Then you will be able to give thanks to God anytime and in any situation. That is why Paul, in I Thessalonians 5:16-18, encourages us to ¡°be joyful always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God¡¯s will for you in Christ Jesus.¡±
Abba Father,
Now we turn our eyes from our problems to our blessings.
Change our hearts to appreciate Your grace,
Abundant and amazing grace.
Give us thankful hearts
So that our lives may become rich.
Abba Father,
We are surrounded by all kinds of problems
And sometimes it is so hard to deal with them.
They make our lives awful, distressful and miserable.
They dissipate gratitude from our hearts
And make our lives a wilderness.
Give us courage and faith
To bring those problems to You through prayer.
Grant us that
We may experience the paradoxical truth
That we are really strong when we are weak.
Let us learn
To rejoice always
And give thanks in all circumstances.