Both

We live in the world of "either-or." 

Either you are on the right side of the argument or you are wrong. Either you know someone or you don't. Either you are living "complex-ly" or simply.

Rarely do we entertain the world of "both." Occasionally we can tolerate a bit of paradox or ambiguity, but mostly we live in the world of "either-or."

It shows up in our conversations with glib frequency.

Recently I was reading and ran across a very provocative scripture that pushes me into the world of "both" when the culture sees things on an"either-or" fashion.

Hear these words of Isaiah..."God is both sanctuary and stumbling stone, Yahweh (God) is a rock that brings Israel down, the Lord is a trap and snare for the people." Isaiah 8:14.

I think I get the "sanctuary" part, but the "stumbling stone" part trips me up. Isaiah writes that God is "both". I have read this before and yet have never experienced it like that.

Think about it for a moment...when you have an "either" and an "or" you have "both." The more I think about it, the more I realize that my life is characterized by the recognition that God is a "sanctuary" to me when I face the turbulence of everyday existence and He is a "stumbling stone"  I constantly trip over in an effort to be god of my own life.

Practically, I feel the tension between people trying to convince me that I am either "in" or "out" when it comes to thinking about theological issues, personal decisions, or perspectives about life. More and more I am learning to live with ambiguities, paradoxes and discontinuity. 

Cyril Connolly, a frustrated English writer and literary critic of the 20th century understood this tension when he wrote, "god the either, god the or and God the Holy Both."  His reflection causes me to think.

Either I am right or I am wrong...maybe both...?