Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise? He Who planted the ear, does He not hear? He Who formed the eye, does He not see? He Who disciplines the nations, does He not rebuke? He Who teaches man knowledge--the Lord--know the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath. (Verses 8-11)
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe...For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. I Corinthians 1
I sat in the car with Vanessa one day a year or so before she was old enough to learn to drive. "I already know how to drive," she offered.
"Oh, really." I smiled.
"Yes. Really." Ever confident of herself.
My middle daughter told me this time after time until the day we went to the high school parking lot and she got behind the wheel. I was recalling the near daily assertion that she knew how to drive. So, I didn't say a word. Expected her to start the engine and take off in the expert manner in which she'd convinced herself she would propel us without incident around the perimeter of Canyon Springs High School. The silence in the car was full of subtext. I, wanting her to perform. She, not quite ready yet. "Why?" you ask.
"I already know how to drive, Mom," Vanessa began. Then paused. "It's just...I don't know which one of these is the brake and which one is the accelerator."
Hmmm. Kinda what I thought. Turns out she didn't know how to steer that well either. Good thing the lot was empty.
Vanessa learned quickly how to navigate a car, even a standard shift. But the point is obvious. She only thought she knew how to drive. That I had nothing really to teach her. Was confident it couldn't be that hard! She was a teenager. I gave her slack. And it made a great story. But when we do that with God, well, it's just stupid. He's way more prescient than I am. And I often don't just tell God how to run my life, I tell Him what to do with yours, too! Oh, my goodness. I think sometimes He might smile, like I did with Vanessa. But when we get loose from the Almighty God's perspective, we will ultimately find out just how dumb we are.
The thing I love about our God, though, is that He does take the foolish things of the world and confound us with them. Was the cross of Christ the most efficient way to buy us our salvation? That He came to Earth as a sacrificial Lamb? Had Jesus come in exceeding wit and outlandish displays of super-hero beauty and strength, that we might have bought. Had He conquered the evil emperors of Rome and set up a vast kingdom on Earth, that would make a more believable story for our small minds to accept. But Jesus probably wasn't even handsome. His wit was used to destroy the haughtiness of a specific religious group, and He hung out with and healed lepers, prostitutes, tax collectors and beggars. Why would God stoop so low if He wanted us to believe in Him?
It isn't by our own great wisdom or superior depth of understanding that we first come to Christ. It wouldn't be the gospel for everyone if only the smartest of us could grasp it. It isn't by our own hearts we get the message of Jesus. It is a spiritual discernment born of God Himself. He must tell us we are His. If we don't hear Him reveal the power of the cross to us, we can't understand it. No one comes to the Father unless the Father draws her/him to Himself (John 6:41). We are little children that way. Our first grasp of the gospel is a whisper that it's the truth. Therefore not discernible with our mere minds. God wants no more boasting. Not like the religious fanatics of Jesus's day who claimed their great self righteousness based on how well they kept the law. No! Christ saves with a message so simple a child can understand it and so complex we will never fully comprehend the majesty of it. It shames the wise because it is not a complex set of tenets and philosophies which they can sit around drinking wine and smoking cigars and finally believe. The sitting around and discussing is for later--once we know the gospel is spiritually discerned by those born again. But, man, after that, there is a gold mine of higher thought inexhaustible and mind-bending because God is too immense for us to grasp on this earth, yet simple enough for us to engage with as daughter to Father.
For me to pit my small earthly understanding against the Mind Who is from forever to forever is absurd. In the vast scope of eternity, I'm not even a blip! But a breath and then gone. The Alpha and Omega need not contend with me. He knows my thoughts--created my mind. Sees my life--created eyes. Rules the nations--knows my path. It's like the flea trying to wag the dog. And just as ridiculous. But I believe in our Father's great love and mercy, sometimes He waits while we find the brake and the accelerator. Acknowledge that we aren't quite as smart as we think we are as we smile the awkward expression of inadequacy and ask for help. It's the request He's looking for. The admission God knows more than we do. That He's not as archaic as we thought. Or as simple. Our Father's given us the gift of not being able to figure Him out. Because even when we think what He's asking us to do is stupid, it's still wiser than we will ever hope to be. And even when we think there's absolutely no way our God can come through, He proves stronger than a comic book hero. O, dullest of people, which is all of us sometimes, when will we be wise? The God of All reached down to us acknowledging our brevity and propensity toward pride and did a thing gods don't do--love their creation enough to die for it. I don't have to be a mighty genius wallowing in my Mensa scores to grasp that kind of love. I just need to be still and hear my Father call me to Himself, crawl into His arms and listen as He leads me through the maze this life becomes for all of us. It makes no sense, but You have given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your right hand has supported me. You have stooped to make me great. Psalm 18:35 I, whose life is but a vapor, will live eternally because of the foolishness of the cross.
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe...For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. I Corinthians 1
I sat in the car with Vanessa one day a year or so before she was old enough to learn to drive. "I already know how to drive," she offered.
"Oh, really." I smiled.
"Yes. Really." Ever confident of herself.
My middle daughter told me this time after time until the day we went to the high school parking lot and she got behind the wheel. I was recalling the near daily assertion that she knew how to drive. So, I didn't say a word. Expected her to start the engine and take off in the expert manner in which she'd convinced herself she would propel us without incident around the perimeter of Canyon Springs High School. The silence in the car was full of subtext. I, wanting her to perform. She, not quite ready yet. "Why?" you ask.
"I already know how to drive, Mom," Vanessa began. Then paused. "It's just...I don't know which one of these is the brake and which one is the accelerator."
Hmmm. Kinda what I thought. Turns out she didn't know how to steer that well either. Good thing the lot was empty.
Vanessa learned quickly how to navigate a car, even a standard shift. But the point is obvious. She only thought she knew how to drive. That I had nothing really to teach her. Was confident it couldn't be that hard! She was a teenager. I gave her slack. And it made a great story. But when we do that with God, well, it's just stupid. He's way more prescient than I am. And I often don't just tell God how to run my life, I tell Him what to do with yours, too! Oh, my goodness. I think sometimes He might smile, like I did with Vanessa. But when we get loose from the Almighty God's perspective, we will ultimately find out just how dumb we are.
The thing I love about our God, though, is that He does take the foolish things of the world and confound us with them. Was the cross of Christ the most efficient way to buy us our salvation? That He came to Earth as a sacrificial Lamb? Had Jesus come in exceeding wit and outlandish displays of super-hero beauty and strength, that we might have bought. Had He conquered the evil emperors of Rome and set up a vast kingdom on Earth, that would make a more believable story for our small minds to accept. But Jesus probably wasn't even handsome. His wit was used to destroy the haughtiness of a specific religious group, and He hung out with and healed lepers, prostitutes, tax collectors and beggars. Why would God stoop so low if He wanted us to believe in Him?
It isn't by our own great wisdom or superior depth of understanding that we first come to Christ. It wouldn't be the gospel for everyone if only the smartest of us could grasp it. It isn't by our own hearts we get the message of Jesus. It is a spiritual discernment born of God Himself. He must tell us we are His. If we don't hear Him reveal the power of the cross to us, we can't understand it. No one comes to the Father unless the Father draws her/him to Himself (John 6:41). We are little children that way. Our first grasp of the gospel is a whisper that it's the truth. Therefore not discernible with our mere minds. God wants no more boasting. Not like the religious fanatics of Jesus's day who claimed their great self righteousness based on how well they kept the law. No! Christ saves with a message so simple a child can understand it and so complex we will never fully comprehend the majesty of it. It shames the wise because it is not a complex set of tenets and philosophies which they can sit around drinking wine and smoking cigars and finally believe. The sitting around and discussing is for later--once we know the gospel is spiritually discerned by those born again. But, man, after that, there is a gold mine of higher thought inexhaustible and mind-bending because God is too immense for us to grasp on this earth, yet simple enough for us to engage with as daughter to Father.
For me to pit my small earthly understanding against the Mind Who is from forever to forever is absurd. In the vast scope of eternity, I'm not even a blip! But a breath and then gone. The Alpha and Omega need not contend with me. He knows my thoughts--created my mind. Sees my life--created eyes. Rules the nations--knows my path. It's like the flea trying to wag the dog. And just as ridiculous. But I believe in our Father's great love and mercy, sometimes He waits while we find the brake and the accelerator. Acknowledge that we aren't quite as smart as we think we are as we smile the awkward expression of inadequacy and ask for help. It's the request He's looking for. The admission God knows more than we do. That He's not as archaic as we thought. Or as simple. Our Father's given us the gift of not being able to figure Him out. Because even when we think what He's asking us to do is stupid, it's still wiser than we will ever hope to be. And even when we think there's absolutely no way our God can come through, He proves stronger than a comic book hero. O, dullest of people, which is all of us sometimes, when will we be wise? The God of All reached down to us acknowledging our brevity and propensity toward pride and did a thing gods don't do--love their creation enough to die for it. I don't have to be a mighty genius wallowing in my Mensa scores to grasp that kind of love. I just need to be still and hear my Father call me to Himself, crawl into His arms and listen as He leads me through the maze this life becomes for all of us. It makes no sense, but You have given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your right hand has supported me. You have stooped to make me great. Psalm 18:35 I, whose life is but a vapor, will live eternally because of the foolishness of the cross.
No comments:
Post a Comment