Cast As Fools

We are battling a giant in this world. It is called common sense. At least... people like to believe that is what they are fighting with. Really, we all like to say we have common sense, but it seems to me that people don't really like to associate common sense with Christians. I once had a conversation with an atheist, and the minute I simply mentioned the word "Noah," he immediately spat: "You actually believe the ark story? All my respect for you just went out the window!"

Despite the seemingly overwhelming evidence that we have tried to confront people with, it just seems as though they are deliberately refusing to accept the obvious truth. They are stuck at "What if?" and roll their eyes when we say that the "What if's?" are why we need faith. When we say 'faith,' they hear 'impossible excuses.'

And, although it is agonizingly frustrating... that is exactly the way things are supposed to be. Taking a look at 1 Corinthians, the frustrations of Christian apologetics are explained.

1 Corinthians 1:18-19~

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. As the Scriptures say, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent."

If you skimmed through that verse, go back and read it again. Sometimes when Scripture comes up, we tend to speed-peruse it, assuming that we either know it already, have heard it, or will find it boring. So read it. Read it for real. Then you will see how it's all starting to make sense!

Though we know the truth, our wisdom seems like foolishness to those whose hearts are set on destruction. When we are sharing the evidence of the Bible, however logical and obvious it is, it will appear as idiocy. Science and human logic is what most of the world's ears are tuned to, pour le moment. They are tuned to the leaders and scientific giants of the world. Paul knew this- he warned against listening only to them:

Verse 20~

So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world's brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.

I have gotten into many debates with people, trying to show them all the evidence- all the proof that the Bible is true. They just don't get it. They'll laugh at me, try to stump me with questions, and the anger I feel is nearly unbearable. The Truth, which seems so plain and simple to me, just seems like stupidity to them! And why? Here is the answer:

Verse 21~

Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.

The way to God's heart is not through knowledge. The way to be saved is not through studies or science. And the way to heaven is certainly not through cold hard proof. No, it is through faith. That very word will bring different emotions to different readers. To some, it sounds like an excuse to believe a fairy-tale. To others, it sounds like a secure net to fall back on, even though it is invisible.

So since we cannot save the world through worldly wisdom, this just proves that these are the things that don't matter. All that is needed is belief on the Lord Jesus Christ. All these theological debates about how long it took the earth to be created, where the Garden of Eden was, or the how-abouts of The Great Flood... they don't matter. At least, they do not define who will or will not be saved. Jesus is the only name by which we must be saved.

So what does this say about us debating with others? Our arguments with people who don't believe? Is it wrong? I don't think so. We are called to witness and to evangelize. We are called to be unashamed of the gospel of Christ. My point is, when we are met with opposition and ignored because of our so-called 'ignorance and foolishness,' that is no cause to give up! This is what was predicted would happen. 

God has made it so that true wisdom, the wisdom and Truth that we know about Christ, will come as foolishness to those who are headed for destruction. Only those who are searching for God will hear intelligence when we preach. This is what will determine how different people even read this blog post; it may seem like utter foolishness, or truth. 

So don't scream at God in anger and confusion when no one will listen, and when the beautiful evidence of God you provide is ignored with hardly valid points. You will look like a fool, and that is that. However, there WILL come a day when every knee shall bow, and when every tongue will confess the TRUTH: that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. (Romans 14:11) It does not say that they will acknowledge the truth about how old the earth is. It does not say that they will confess that there was a worldwide flood. They WILL, however, confess the only thing that truly matters: they will acknowledge God.

As 1 Corinthians 2:16 says, the only reason we understand these things is because we have the mind of Christ!!

I'll admit, that is pretty indescribable.

Jars of Clay

I hope to get good grades. I hope to marry a good man someday. I hope to have a successful life. I hope to stay healthy. I hope.

We use the term 'hope' a lot of the time, for a variety of different things. We nearly always use it as a verb... an interchangeable good luck charm. "I hope you get better soon." "I hope you have a nice day." "I hope the weather is nicer tomorrow." We hope for fragile, simplistic, more-or-less pointless things.

But we have a hope. Noun. We were given a hope. In fact it has been illuminated inside of us, and is meant to be a blindingly beautiful light for all the hopeless. However, it gets crowded out with all of the 'I hopes' on the outside of us.

2 Corinthians 4:6-7 ~

For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness," has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

When we 'hope' to have an enjoyable day... do we think of it as a powerful statement? I doubt it. But hope- true hope- is a God-given gift. It is the great power of God. We are like clay jars. Fragile, dusty, ordinary, empty. But God has filled us up with a hope that shines like a beacon of light for all the other empty vases around the world. At least... that's what we're supposed to be doing.

Our 'hopes' crowd the true hope out. We hope we will be liked. We hope we will be comfortable. We hope for fame, status, wealth, popularity, and ease. Has it ever occurred to you that there is a much greater number of empty clay jars out there than us, full ones? So if the battle of evangelism feels easy... there's something wrong with that picture.

For a clay jar who is filled with the hope of Christ, all the other meaningless 'hopes' fall out of place. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 says:

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed.

We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.

We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God.

We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.

Dwell on that for just a moment. This is incredible! We 'hope' that we will have an easy life, but here, Paul describes the hopeful clay jar as being 'pressed on every side by troubles.' That does not sound like an easy, comfortable lifestyle. However, though our hope for comfort is not fulfilled, the true hope is: we are never crushed by Satan.

We hope for good grades, intelligence, and good, old-fashioned logic. However, Paul describes the hopeful clay jar as being perplexed. Confused. But the hope that is inside keeps it from being driven to despair.

We hope for popularity and love from other humans... but if we are being totally loved by those of the world, that is quite a clear indication that our 'beacon of hope' is being cluttered up. Because, as Paul says, if people can see where our hope lies... we will be hunted down. We will be persecuted and hated. But the hope that we have that makes it worth going through a billion times: we are never abandoned by God. Humans may desert us, flog us, back-stab us, mock us, but they are humans. We have a God who will never desert us. 

We hope for emotional strength, and confidence in ourselves. Who needs self-confidence when you can have confidence in an entirely reliable God? We will get knocked down, but we will NOT be destroyed!

Are you beginning to see the amazing picture of true hope? It is not a good luck charm. It is not a wishlist. It is not wistful thinking. It is a light; a light that has been put in every clay jar that belongs to God. So clean out the meager 'hopes' that are dirtying up the outside of your fragile clay jar, and show your true hope inside for all to see!

Paul knew better than most that Christianity will be hunted with crucifixion, the sword, and the constant danger of death. But Paul also had a very firm grasp on reality. He knew that every time we suffer for Jesus' sake, we share in His death! Isn't that an honour? To endure suffering for the King who saved you from eternal doom? I would hope we accepted it as an honour. 

So, despite all the persecution, Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:13~

We continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said "I believed in God, so I spoke."

Could it be any more straightforward than that? He believed God, so he spoke. The two concepts came hand-in-hand. I say I believe God, but I pipe down in the face of mockery. 

So what do I value more? My faith in God? My hope in God? Or my meager hope of popularity?

It's pretty sad that the answer to that question is always somewhat hesitant.

Romans 8:18~

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.