There are some things in life that seem so simple on the surface…
Like 1 + 1 = 2
Or the word “the” …just three little letters!
Or a basic, two-wheeled bicycle.
In the early 20th century, Bertrand Russell wanted to prove conclusively that mathematics worked, so he decided to start with the simplest concept we know of and went right ahead and proved 1+1=2. However, what sounds like an incredibly simple task actually took the mathematician and philosopher 372 pages of complex sums. The mammoth solution was published as Principia Mathematica across three volumes.
The word “the” is one of the most common words in the English language. It’s so ubiquitous that most of us have probably never stopped to think about how strange of a word it actually is. Why do we say, ‘I love the ballet’ … wait, nobody loves the ballet. Why do we say, ‘I love the Blazers,’ but not ‘I love the cable TV?’ Why do we say, ‘I have the flu,’ but not ‘I have the headache?’ The dictionary itself lists almost two dozen different ways the word can be used in a sentence correctly, which makes an exact definition of the word that much more difficult to pin down.
And bicycles have existed for over a hundred years; and since then scientists have been arguing about how exactly they work, or more specifically, how they stay upright. There are theories, but because the science of bicycle dynamics isn’t exactly a sexy area of science researchers like to invest their time, it’s highly unlikely that we’ll know for sure anytime soon.
As we continue in our series, Messy Church, this Sunday, we’ll be looking at the simple complexity of the gospel. Paul unpacks this truth for the church at Corinth and for us in chapter 2 of 1 Corinthians.
Much like a basic equation, the word “the,” or a bicycle, the gospel is at the same time both simple and complex. As we dive in to what Paul has to say, we will find hope and help in understanding the deep truth of God that you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand. It’s available to us as believers, through the person of the Holy Spirit.
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