Counterintuitive Faith —WHAT? … Here come my Weekend Musings again. There is an old fable that I read a while back and it got me to thinking of being counterintuitive: “The definition of counterintuitive is something that goes against what you believe would be logical, or something that goes against common sense.”  Often the Christian life and worldly life conflict, such as the fable below. Have a think about it this weekend and send me your thoughts!! Happy May Day, too.

[From the Apostle Paul] So I tell you: “Live by following the Spirit. Then you will not do what your sinful selves want. Our sinful selves want what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against our sinful selves. The two are against each other, so you cannot do just what you please.” — Galatians 5:16-17 [NCV]

An old and not-verified-as-true story from India is told of a holy man who was engaged in his morning meditation under a tree whose roots stretched out over the riverbank. During his meditation, he noticed the river was rising and a scorpion caught in the roots was about to drown. He crawled out on the roots and reached down to free the scorpion, but every time he did so, the scorpion struck back at him.

An observer came along and said to the holy man, “Sir, no disrespect but this is crazy! Don’t you know that’s an ugly mean and worthless scorpion, and it’s nature is to want to sting?” The holy man replied, “That may well be. But it is my nature to save, and must I change my nature because the scorpion does not change its nature?”

I don’t know about you but I don’t like scorpions, yet they are God’s creation and they have a purpose—just like pesky mosquitoes (see comments at the end). I admit I’m not saintly enough to rescue one but this story leads us to the counterintuitive times we face in our faith walk.

As counterintuitive as this story may seem, those of us who profess Christ are called to live up to a higher standard than the rest of the world, which includes all of God’s creation. Like the holy man in the story, we’re called to save when the world wants to sting us. We’re called to forgive when our instinct is to harbor anger. And, we’re called to consider others better than ourselves.

OUCH! When someone or something stings me, I want it out of my life … so how can we accomplish what we are called to do and live as Christians? The only answer I have is one that came from my Confirmation and the b’zillion things we had to memorize as Lutheran kids. You know, in 8th grade I could memorize like crazy but it wasn’t until I was older where the stuff in my head went to my heart!

Anyway, my one answer is from Luther’s explanation of the 3rd Article of the Apostles’ Creed: I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.

These words sum it up: if we are going to live this life as God calls us, we cannot do it alone as that would also be counterintuitive to the God who created us! The Holy Spirit must become our ‘walking path’ every day. When we walk in the Spirit, we are guided in what to say-or-not say/do-or-not-do when we get stung. In the spirit we also have the courage to share saving words of life to those who hurt us even if our own mind doesn’t want to give the “stinger an inch.”

So my friends, in other words, it’s only in and through the Holy Spirit that we can do what is foolish to the flesh but pleasing to God. I don’t know where you are walking, but I know where I want my path to be and I am forever grateful that the Holy Spirit reigns me in when I so easily wander!!

Cyndy’s Thoughts … Have you ever wondered why God called us to live so remarkably different than the world around us? Have you ever thought of what ‘living a counterintuitive life according to the Spirit’ might look like for you and your faith walk?

‘Bug Addendum’: What good are Scorpions: Scorpions are predators, and so they feed on a variety of potential pest organisms. Some scorpions also feed on other scorpions, so they do have an important role in the environment potentially controlling pest populations of insects, spiders and other arachnids. There’s also potential medical utility for scorpions as well—using venom to treat medical conditions.

What good are Mosquitoes: As nice as it may sound to live in a world without mosquitoes, it’s not as easy as eradicating species that cause us harm or even those that just annoy us. But they play a key role in many ecosystems: male mosquitoes eat nectar and, in the process, pollinate all manner of plants. These insects are also an important food source for many other animals, including bats, birds, reptiles, amphibians and even other insects. When you are bitten by a mosquito, you often do not feel the bite because the mosquito essentially anesthetizes you with his mouth. Some of these anesthetic properties of mosquito saliva have been studied and incorporated in synthetic forms into local and topical anesthetics people use to numb a patient undergoing medical treatment. In addition, according to “Mosquito Info,” prototype products have been developed to allow diabetics to test their blood sugar more painlessly with the use of a device resembling the tentacles of the mouth of a mosquito.