The Cultural Paradox of Following Jesus Christ

Christians in our modern age are called to live counterculturally. In fact, we must live paradoxically to fully live out the teachings of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Consider Christ’s teaching in Matthew 16:24-25,

“‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it’” (ESV).

You’ll find similar statements from Christ throughout the Gospels. Indeed, our faith is a paradoxical faith. And only by faith can these difficult statements of Christ make sense.

Ponder the following:

Our culture is saturated with sex; Christians strive to live chastely.

Our culture accepts and even celebrates abortion; Christians save the lives of preborn babies.

Our culture proclaims riches, fame and success; Christians embrace generosity, quiet faithfulness and the cross.

Our culture seeks comfort; Christians embrace sacrifice and service.

Our culture teaches individualism; Christians embrace community.

Our culture seeks self-satisfaction; Christians uphold the family, honoring large families.

Our culture fears death; Christians look forward to life after death.

By losing our life, we find it. By giving of ourselves, we find our purpose. By obeying Christ, we find true freedom.

In Philippians 2:5-10, we read that Christ – though being by very nature God – emptied Himself and gave up His life on a cross. Because He brought Himself low, God “highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name” (ESV).

There’s a paradox at play here, because God uses the foolish in the world to shame the wise. He chooses what is weak in the world to shame the strong (1 Cor. 1:27).

In short, Christians are called to follow the paradoxical example of our Savior. Why should we expect anything less in a faith where God Himself is crucified, and therefore, glorified?

Perhaps one way to consider the paradoxical nature of Jesus Himself and of our faith is to reflect on a writing from nearly 1,600 years ago.

Saint Gregory of Nazianzus was one of the great early fathers of the Church who had an outsized impact upon the development of Christian theology. He served as Archbishop of Constantinople from 380 to 381, and he defended the doctrine of the Trinity against the early heresy of Arianism (which claimed that Jesus Christ is a created being, not truly divine).

St. Gregory was well known for his rhetorical skill, which he demonstrated particularly in his Third Theological Oration – “On the Son.”

In it, he reflects upon the nature of Jesus Christ, and upon the Son’s relation to the Father. He puts his rhetorical skills to use proclaiming the divinity of Christ, while simultaneously defending Christ’s humanity. For Christ – while one person – was both fully God and fully man (this is referred to as the Hypostatic Union).

St. Gregory writes,

As man [Jesus Christ] was baptized, but he absolved sins as God; he needed no purifying rites himself – his purpose was to hallow water. As man he was put to the test, but as God he came through victorious – yes, bids us be of good cheer, because he has conquered the world.

St. Gregory continues,

He hungered – yet he fed thousands. He is indeed “living, heavenly bread.” He thirsted – yet he exclaimed: “Whosoever thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” Indeed, he promised that believers would become fountains. He was tired – yet he is the “rest” of the weary and the burdened. He was overcome by heavy sleep – yet he goes lightly over the sea, rebukes winds, and relieves the drowning Peter.

He goes on,

He prays, yet he hears prayer. He weeps, yet he puts an end to weeping. He asks where Lazarus is laid – he was man; yet he raises Lazarus – he was God. He is sold, and cheap was the price – thirty pieces of silver; yet he buys back the world at the mighty cost of his own blood. A sheep, he is led to the slaughter – yet he shepherded Israel and now the whole world as well.

St. Gregory drives home his point,

He is weakened, wounded – yet he cures every disease and every weakness. He is brought up to the tree and nailed to it – yet by the tree of life he restores us. … He is given vinegar to drink, gall to eat – and who is he? Why, one who turned water into wine, who took away the taste of bitterness, who is all sweetness and desire. He surrenders his life, yet he has power to take it again. … He dies, but he vivifies and by death destroys death. He is buried, yet he rises again. He goes down to Hades, yet he leads souls up, ascends to heaven, and will come to judge the quick and dead.

St. Gregory made these points to defend Jesus’ humanity and divinity, and to explain that not everything in Christianity can easily be understood by the world. He concludes that “Faith, in fact, is what gives fullness to our reasoning.”

So, dear Christian. It’s OK if you don’t feel at home in our culture. In fact, you shouldn’t feel at home. Because our true home is not in the world; it’s in the next.

Live boldly. Live counterculturally. Live paradoxically. Live obediently. For in obedience to Christ – and in following His example – we find true life.

“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10, ESV).

To learn more about the historical case for Jesus Christ and his resurrection, you might check out Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ, which has also been made into a movie.

To learn more about the Christian faith, read C.S. Lewis’ classic Mere Christianity. You can also listen to Focus on the Family’s award winning Radio Theater: C.S. Lewis at War.

If you want to better understand the Bible and be part of God’s redemptive mission, check out RVL Discipleship: The Study.

To speak with a family help specialist or request resources, please call us at 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).

Related articles and resources:

Why Believe in Christianity? Because it is True.

How Big is Your View of the Gospel?

Appreciating the Full Scope of the Lordship of Christ – and the Gospel Itself

Christianity is Both a Religion and a Relationship

Against the Prosperity Gospel

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