Maturity in Christ-likeness

God's sovereignty versus man's obedience

God's mercy versus God's judgment

God's wisdom versus God's zeal

God's authority versus God's humility (the lion versus the lamb)

Experiential versus evangelical (or experimental versus “the teachings of your father”)

Doing versus being (seeking versus waiting)

Serving versus leading

Long-suffering versus rebuking

Power to heal versus power to endure

Living by the Spirit versus living by the Word

As we strive to mature in Christ-likeness, we're aiming for the “radical middle” of many spiritual balances. It would seem that Jesus is a paradox; a riddle that we must crack to find maturity.

But this is a poor way of seeing it. I think it much better to see it like this: Jesus is not a paradox; Jesus is a person. There's nothing contradictory about a man who does one thing today and another tomorrow, or a man who does one thing for ten reasons while feeling five hidden things.

In fact, that's a great thing. Far better than an ideal set of values, Jesus is a living man. Jesus has more character than anyone else we've ever known. He is “fuller in his person-ness” than we can yet be. It blows our mind to reconcile these paradoxical virtues into our lives, but in thinking about Jesus doing the same, it somehow makes sense.

As we become more like Jesus, our personalities will become more full, just like his. Our “fullness of person” will allow us to live in “the radical middle”, just as He does. So it would be better yet to say that there is no radical middle point. There is only the person of Christ-- the dynamic Man who does the Father's will at all times. The right thing to do, to feel, to be, is what Jesus wants to do where you are, right now.

-andrew