Plan "B"

Chinese: 矛盾; pinyin: máodùn; literally "Spear-Shield".

There is an ancient Chinese story about a salesman who was trying to sell a spear and a shield. "This shield is so strong", he told a prospective customer, "That it will withstand an attack from any spear."

"Tell me about this spear you are selling, then", said the customer.

"Ah, this spear is so powerful, that it will have victory over any shield", boasted the salesman.

"But what if I attack this shield with this spear?" was the next obvious question.

A paradox.



When an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. From what I know of physics all you can get is heat and friction until both the object and the force are completely destroyed. This is not the case with doing God's will. God is both the unstoppable force and the immovable object.

In comparison, we are like a single stick of straw growing for a day. We can resist God's will to the point of being useless and cast into the fire. I've been praying for some months now about God's specific will for my life. So far, I've received nothing except, "Be still and know that I am God". I've also gotten a lot out of the Bible with respect to what God commands a saved person to live like. We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and shelter the poor. It's plain to see that we're also called to go to the outer reaches of the world (and our own neighborhoods) and tell others about Christ. Lastly, I find that I am called to be holy. Not for salvation's sake, but for the sake of Christ who saved me.

But those are all the general will of God. Everyone who calls themselves a Christian is called to go, and feed, and tell, and be. While I wait on God, I need to ensure that I'm living my life in such a way that I will be ready when His will is made known to me. Like the virgins awaiting the bridegroom. Like a servant who waits on their master.

Because there is an unstoppable sword, and I am no unmovable object. Walk on.

Hebrews 4:12
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."