This unusual story, designed to include you, me, and everyone else, is called The Paradox Man. It’s written to reflect on our day-to-day lives, and I am sure we can all relate to the complexity of the paradox of man.
I live in a paradox between sun-up and sun-down; I stand in the doorway between the rain and the sunshine, and at any given moment, the clouds can form or dissipate to reveal a clear blue sky. But regardless of where I stand, the mystery continues, and I am the paradox of man, and regardless of my circumstances, I cannot see around corners.
I am a man walking on solid ground, and a minute later, I am sinking into the quicksand. The road turns left and right, and the curves are dangerous to my life, and the curves never go away, no more than tomorrow’s mystery.
I am a leaf in the wind, caught in the currents of life, and my direction can change in the flash of a slivering light, and who am I to say I’ll be hot or cold tonight? But I know for sure; I cannot see around the corner, not any more than I know what lies ahead.
I am a man standing between the visible and the invisible, and what’s visible today might be invisible tomorrow. I am the chalk on the drawing board, subject to the eraser at any time, and the life I have today might be gone tomorrow, like dust in the wind.
I am a paradoxical man caught within the midst of shifting sands, and I would be foolish to say that life will be the same, day after day. As much as I wish the sands didn’t shift, they’ll move anyway, and you and I aren’t stationary, no more than the shifting sands.
I am a paradox man, being chased by time, and I am the sand in the hourglass, and time is trying to catch and consume me. Even though I would like to turn back the clock, I regret it; I cannot, and the stableness I wish to maintain fluctuates like a flickering light.
I am a paradoxical man wishing to be a gentleman, but animal instincts get in the way, and I cannot be a gentleman day after day. The perfection I want to achieve eludes me to an unachievable degree, and I would be foolish to believe I can emulate the perfectness of Yeshua.
I am a paradoxical man, and my life is a mystery to me, and the second, minute, hour, or day, I haven’t a clue, revealing the moment I’ll fade away. But I know for sure; someday, the death angel will call on me, and I’ll fade away and awake in another world.
I am paradoxical, standing in the doorway between change and staying the same, and beyond my control; I know the caterpillar will metamorphose into a butterfly, and I will make a metamorphose, too, and so will you.
I am a paradox man, and you are too, and the paradox man stands between Heaven and Hell, and this Earth is a two-directional doorway. I want you to know that the two doorways aren’t a mystery, and we know what’s waiting on the other side.
O’ Lord, I am a paradox man, and I know this is true because I look up every night and say, What shall I do, Lord? This admission to being a lost man proves I am a paradoxical man looking for answers from you.
Well, Lord, I am confident; you know the thoughts of my heart; I am a wish in the wind, floating and swirling between claim and disclaim, and my desire coming true all depends on you. But for now, I am a paradoxical man, wishing for a dream to come true.
God bless you
Sincerely, Paul Douglas Castle