I can’t claim anything close to genius status. I’ve never been asked to join Mensa or any other high IQ society. I’m just your regular, run-of-the-mill, average intelligence kind of girl, but I do like to solve a good puzzle from time to time. Nothing really difficult and nothing that requires me solving mathematical equations, just simple head-scratchers.

Here are a few examples: “What has to be broken before you can use it?” An egg. “What is at the end of a rainbow?” The letter 'w'. “A man shaves every day, but his beard stays the same.” He’s a barber. And one of my go-to number-related jokes: “What did the zero say to the eight?” Nice belt!

There’s not much to these riddles, but if you like paradoxes as literary devices designed to make you think, the Bible is a great source. Riddles were used a lot by Jewish rabbis and wise men. They were supposed to cause the listener to think more deeply and critically. Jesus, the Best Rabbi Ever, was always dropping truth bombs and asking head-scratchers to anyone who would listen—from big crowds to his 12 closest friends.

Maybe that’s where John, the Apostle Jesus loved, picked up his affinity for riddles. In his gospel, John loves to lay down a paradox, like when he discusses Jesus’ full divinity and full humanity. And he uses them in his letters of encouragement to the early churches, too. Take 1 John 2:1 for example. “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”

John says “I write this so you won’t sin” then he says “but if anybody does sin…” So what is he promoting here? In this letter, John is teaching the believers whom he loves (he calls them “my dear children”) how and why to avoid sin, but he’s not naïve. He knows that we all still sin. In the chapter before this, John just wrote: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” Unfortunately, sin is part of our daily lives. That’s why we need Jesus. Which is why John also writes: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” He provides a way out!

And that way out is Jesus as our advocate, our lawyer. John says, “We have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” While this idea of having a supernatural lawyer may sound like the most boring comic book hero ever—Super Lawyer to the rescue!—it’s actually part of Christ’s beautiful job description. The ancient Israelites had been taught to think of God in this way for generations—someone to plead for them. Like in Jeremiah where it says: “Yet their Redeemer is strong; the Lord Almighty is his name. He will vigorously defend their cause so that he may bring rest to their land” and “the Lord says: ‘See, I will defend your cause and avenge you.’” God has always been just, and through Jesus and the Holy Spirit we get access and sponsorship. And it’s personal. I get to see an example of someone standing for justice, but also someone willing to stand up for me.

There are plenty of lawyers who would do almost anything for their clients, but I doubt they would do what our Advocate did for us. 1 John 2:2 says “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” He died for us! So let’s live for Him today!