Truth is all around us, and a paradox is an assertion that may appear contradictory or opposite but is nevertheless true. It is said that at the heart of paradox or seeming contradiction, one can always find truth, which means finding God.
I will be speaking about five specific paradoxes on Sunday that help us gain a deeper understanding of Spirit. One of them is: “God is Principle and God is Personal.” As children, we may have had a more personal God, but perhaps distant or stern—up in the sky with a long white beard, for example! Then, years later, we may have happily grasped the idea that God is Principle by realizing there is some kind of Greater Mind in the Universe that keeps all of the planets and everything else in some kind of amazing divine order.
That was the case for me to some extent, though my bearded God was not stern or strict, but more loving. Perhaps that is because my own father was a strong but gentle soul. But I was elated to suddenly realize the idea that there is some incredible intelligence that goes way beyond the personal. And for a while, I became so focused on a Quantum Physics type of God, that I had to rediscover “God as Personal.” I find that by “practicing the presence,” seeing the good or blessing in all things, I feel that personal loving Spirit. I also find it through the synchronicity and small miracles that show up in my life, and the signs and wonders that reveal themselves at just the right moment.
So, it is a paradox to think of the divine as both principle and personal. How could this God that is so far beyond human intelligence even have concern with our daily lives? And yet, there is an amazing personal side revealed as we awaken to the grace-filled miracles and seeming interventions that occur for us and leave us awestruck. Sometimes the only plausible answer is that IT is a mystery.
When we stop thinking that it must be one way or the other, we find God at the center. God is Principle AND God is Personal. We may not understand how that can be, but we know it is the Truth, with a capital “T.”
I hope to see you in-person or online for Sunday Service as we explore the other paradoxes!
Love & Blessings,
Rev. Kathy