The foolishness of God
“Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not to nullify the thing that are, that no man should boast before God.” I Corinthians 1:25-29
This is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. If you know me, or have read my testimony, then you might be able to figure out why it is a favorite of mine.
But, I believe that this and other passages(and there are many) that speak of God using lowly and unlikely people to do His work is a key to understanding the Gospel.
There are several reasons why I think God uses the unlikely to do His work and spread His message. Reason number 1 is who gets the Glory from others. Reason number 2 is who gets the credit in our mind. Reason number 3 is so that we cannot brag about our successes.
When other people watch, and see a “muscle man or woman” lift a huge weight, then obviously they say that they were able to do that because of their own strength or abilities. However, when people see a “95 pound weakling” lift a huge weight, or perform some other seemingly impossible task then they cannot say that he/she was able to do it under their own power, and they question where the power came from. Which leaves a grand opening for discovery about the strength of God.
One of my favorite stories in the New Testament is found in Acts 4; Peter and John had been arrested, and taken before the Jewish High Council. After a lot of questioning the High Council realized that there was no cause for keeping the men in Jail. The Bible says that during the questioning the Jews “…understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.”(Acts 4:13) PRAISE GOD!!!! He will ALWAYS get the Glory that He deserves when other people realize that we could not do what we did on our own.
When we do something great or beyond our abilities then we, as humans, have a tendency to get a “big head” and think “we’re all that”. But, after the emotion of the moment settles down we realize that what we just did could not be done under our power. Then we recognize, or we should, that the only reason we were able to reach beyond our abilities/strengths is because God gave us His power.
One of my favorite stories from the Old Testament can be found in Judges 7. Israel is being oppressed by Midian and God called Gideon to deliver them. When Gideon accepted the challenge to free the Israelites he found a 22,000 man army to fight with, but this is what God said, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands lest Israel becomes boastful, saying my own power has delivered me.” (Judges 7:2) Gideon probably said, WHAT!!!!! But God through a process of elimination whittled a 22,000 man Army down into 300. But, those 300 men took the Midianites captive. With God’s power, of course !
Many people know the story of Samson, and how he was seduced by the harlot Delilah (Judges 16). The story of Samson is a perfect illustration of how people cannot boast before the Lord. Samson was in days past a very strong and intelligent man. (You can read the entire story of Samson in Judges 14-16.)
But, Samson had one flaw; he sought out his on pleasure. He was enticed by Delilah, and was overpowered and taken prisoner by the Philistines. However, in his final act he realized that his own strength was insufficient, so he called on the Lord out of his desperate need.
As humans it is the natural tendency to give credit to others for their good work, or to brag to other people about what a good person you are; and there is nothing wrong with receiving or accepting accolades for the good that you have done. However, when we try and take the spotlight away from God and put it on ourselves then it becomes a sin.
So, God in His infinite wisdom uses, many times, the most unlikely sources so that He alone gets the Glory.
Consider the story of Jesus. He was born to a poor, lowly Jewish family; His early years were spent in a carpenters workshop alongside His father. When He stepped out to fulfill the purpose that He came for He was rejected and abused by the people He came to save, and with the ultimate humiliation He died a criminal’s death. But God raised Him, and because of Him, and the price He paid, we can have an eternal life with God the Father. That’s the ultimate example of God making worldly wisdom look foolish!
You may be weak, and think that you are a nobody, but God likes nobodies of this world because “NOBODIES” are formable; and He can make a “NOBODY OF THIS WORLD” a “SOMEBODY IN HIS KINGDOM”.
__________________________________________
Father, I thank You for calling me even when I was weak and a nobody, but I ask that You help me to remember that through You I can become a somebody. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
___________________________________________
The image above can be found at:
http://www.ci.frisco.tx.us/safetytown/Pages/ResidentClowns.aspx
Yes, You Can Ministry 