Words fascinate me. I enjoy playing with words. I love to collect axioms, slogans, sentence sermons, proverbs, Yogi Berra-isms and such. I even have a collection of oxymorons, those quaint and absurd combinations of self-contradictory words. Expressions like week day. Right. I have over 900 of them so far. Stay with me.
Okay, I know what you’re thinking. You want to have more of my favorites, right? Here are some of the best. Whole half. We’re alone. Taped live. Awfully good. Turned up missing. Un-biased opinion. United Nations. Vegetarian meatball. Wall Street. Sharp curve. Semi-boneless. Hey, it’s either boneless or not. More? Sergeant Major. Saying nothing. Genuine vinyl. Pretty ugly. Partial cease-fire. Right! Passive-aggressive. Never again. New routine. Original copy. Man child. Male ladybug. Mono poly. Negative gain. Mercy killing. Microsoft works. Naval aviation. Minor disaster. Is this enough? You can’t possibly want more!
Okay. Mud bath. Ice water. Jumbo shrimp. Known secret. Living martyr. Just war. Innocent seduction. Light heavyweight. Limited lifetime guarantee. Sure! Horse fly. Great depression. Front end. Grape nuts. Hey, neither grape nor nuts. Talk about false advertising. Hermitage. Is this where multiple hermits hang with each other? Criminitly! Friendly takeover. Good grief. Home office. Extinct life. Fresh frozen. Executive secretary. False witness. Football scholarship. “A fine mess you’ve got us in this time, Ollie!”
Deliberate mistake. Criminal justice. Crash landing. Buffalo wings. Act naturally. Almost certain. Enough?
I almost forgot my point. Jesus used an oxymoron to make the most profound and fundamental point regarding the gospel of Christ. It has to do with everything that Jesus lived and died for. It is directly tied to blood atonement and the hope of eternity. Can you guess what it was he said? Need a hint? Okay. He was talking to Nicodemus. Give up? Jesus told him he must be “born again.” Even old Nick didn’t understand it and asked for clarification. It was a spiritual birth. Have you been? Born again I mean?