The Gospel of Both And

Even though we live in a world that can be very black and white in how it looks at religion, politics, sports teams, etc., it is also a world that has a hard time getting out of the gray zones: culture, spirituality, philosophy, etc. Even in the areas that seemingly black and white there can be tinges of gray and vice versa.

So today I was reading Matthew 11 from the Bible and began understanding that the message of Jesus is a gospel of both and. It's crazy almost. Read the passage for yourself and see what you come away understanding and feeling about this Savior and his Kingdom.

Here are a few of my observations on this gospel. It's both:

radical and restful
violent and peaceful
gracious and judgement
turn away and come to me
contradictory and connected
great and least
what the (John in jail) and how can (we come and rest)

This gospel is not always:

one or the other
this or that
right or wrong
work or wait
law or grace

But here's the crazy thing, this Jesus and his gospel: are always love and true. It's what we need when we need it even that is hard to hear, see, feel and experience given our circumstances effecting us at any given time. May God give us discernment and understanding in these situations as we pursue him and his perfect way in our life.