Another Contradiction

Verse 1 Paul stood on Mars Hill, looking at the sky, Said, "The Lord of heaven and earth does not in temples lie. No walls of human making can contain the Holy One." Yet Jesus spoke of God's own house beneath Jerusalem's sun. "He who swears by the Temple swears by the One within," A dwelling in the sanctuary raised by mortal men. One voice says He is present there, another says He can't, And the pages start to tremble beneath the faithful chant. Chorus Oh no, not another contradiction, Another fork along the way. Two voices calling from the pages, Each demanding I obey. One says, "Follow where the Shepherd leads," One says, "Trust what came before." And every answer births a question, Leaving footprints on the floor. Verse 2 A mountain high, the kingdoms spread before the Nazarene, "The power of these worlds is mine," the Tempter said unseen. The rulers of the age would nail the Lord of Glory there, Their swords and laws and empires raised against the Prince of Peace. Yet Romans says authority descends from God above, The magistrate bears heaven's sword, a servant of His love. So tell me, are the thrones of earth the devil's borrowed crown, Or ministers appointed by the King who laid His glory down? Chorus Oh no, not another contradiction, Another crossroads in the dust. One kingdom built upon the sword, One kingdom built on trust. The rulers crucified the Christ, Yet bear God's badge, we're told. How do both survive together, When the iron still feels cold? Verse 3 Hosea cried, "They crowned their kings without approval from above." Peter stood before the council, choosing God instead of men. "We must obey the Lord," he said when silence was demanded. The chains of fear were broken where the gospel had landed. But another voice says, "Yield yourselves to every earthly throne. Resist them and resist the One who set them on their own." So the martyrs and the prophets seem to stare across the years, While history builds its palaces from blood and prayers and tears. Verse 4 The hungry fed, the naked clothed, the prisoner embraced, The sheep inherit paradise because they showed God's grace. "I was thirsty, I was starving, and you served Me in My need." The righteous stand before the Judge, commended for their deeds. Yet another scroll keeps telling us no deeds can make us whole, That faith alone can justify the burdened human soul. And the courtroom fills with echoes from Galatia unto Rome, While Matthew paints a judgment where compassion leads us home. Bridge Jesus ate with broken people, sat among the lost, Shared a table with the sinners though it brought Him scorn and cost. The Physician sought the wounded, called the wandering to return, Kept a place beside the fire for the hearts that still could learn. Yet Corinth hears another order: "Do not even share a meal. Cast the offender from among you till the wound begins to heal." Two paths diverge before the church, two visions of the feast, One leaves room for every wanderer, one removes the least. Verse 5 Little children gathered round Him, laughing in the light, "Of such belongs the kingdom," said the Teacher of the right. Become like these if you would enter through the narrow gate, Receive the kingdom open-handed, free from pride and weight. Yet Adam's shadow stretches long across another page, Death reigning over infant hearts before they know an age. Are the children held already in the kingdom's safe embrace, Or born condemned beneath the weight of an ancestral case? Final Chorus Oh no, not another contradiction, Another question left to sing. The Shepherd calls across the ages, And every soul must hear the King. Some will follow Paul to Romans, Some will walk the red-letter way. Some will try to hold them together, Some will say they cannot stay. Oh no, not another contradiction, Still the voices fill the night. And every reader in the silence Must decide which sounds most right. Outro The pages turn, the candles flicker, The arguments remain. And every generation listens For the Shepherd's voice again.