For in the world, strength is measured by our ability to do things on our own. By ourselves. By our own intelligence or ingenuity or physical presence. Those are the truly strong people in the world. But here again we find another irony, because even those considered, in the eyes of the world, to be most self-sufficient and therefore strong are just as weak as all the rest of us. They, too, are only upheld by the grace of God. They, too, only have breath because God sees fit for it to be so.
There are many adjectives that you could rightly use to describe the Christian life. Joyful, satisfying, hopeful are a few of them. Then there are those that are equally true, and yet a little more difficult to accept. Words like arduous, disciplined, and troubled fit here. And in that long list of adjectives sits one more that perhaps you haven’t considered recently:
Ironic.
When a situation is ironic, it means that what it appears to be on the surface is actually far different – and maybe even the opposite – deep down. Irony is a kind of contradiction of what is visible and what is real. While that description doesn’t really fit around things like “rain on your wedding day” or “a free ride when you’ve already paid,” it does fit alongside the Christian experience. Because for the Christian…
The mourners are comforted.
The empty are filled.
The least are the greatest.
These things are all true about the kingdom of God for that kingdom is, in many ways, an upside down kind of kingdom because what is actually true is not what appears to be true. There is one particular irony of the Christian life that we would do well to remember today, though, and that is the fact that for the Christian, weakness is actually strength. JI Packer, in his classic work Knowing God, describes that dynamic like this:
“God uses chronic pain and weakness, along with other afflictions, as his chisel for sculpting our lives. Felt weakness deepens dependence on Christ for strength each day. The weaker we feel, the harder we lean. And the harder we lean, the stronger we grow spiritually, even while our bodies waste away. To live with your ‘thorn’ uncomplainingly—”
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