An Encouraging Word
HOW “FOOLISHNESS” CAN SET YOU FREE
“This is never going to work.”
Have you ever noticed how in story after story, in movies and books and television shows, it’s the crazy, even foolish characters that save the day?
A little hobbit and a rag-tag band of others take a journey into the heart of darkness to save the world…and succeeds.
A bored farm boy from a desert planet leads a freedom uprising against an evil galactic empire…and wins.
What if God’s plan for your life was just like that?
You may feel like your life is too insignificant to be used in a big way, like it’s been a waste so far and doesn’t hold much prospect for the future, but think about this for a moment… In human terms, the cross of Christ was a total waste. Think of what the people of His day might have said of His life and death:
“What a good teacher Jesus was! He could have done so much more.”
“What an inspiring man He was! He could have risen so much higher.”
“What a powerful prophet He was! He could have gone so much farther.”
“Why did He have to go and throw it all away and get Himself killed? So foolish.”
Maybe people could say things about you like they did about Him. Maybe they are even true to some degree, but look at what God says… “the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God… for the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:18, 25)
In human terms, for Jesus to go to the cross was total foolishness. In human terms, when Jesus went to the cross, it was an end.
But God doesn’t operate on human terms.
In God’s way, the cross is not an end, but a beginning It is a triumphant announcement to you and to me and to any who hear it:
“Come, you who are weary, and find rest for your souls.
Come, you who are failures, and find another chance.
Come, you who are broken, and find healing and strength.
I make old things new, and dead things LIVE again.”
Maybe in human terms you aren’t qualified to make an impact in the world, but God doesn’t operate on human terms.
Maybe in human terms it would be foolish for Jesus to use you to do anything significant for His Kingdom, but God doesn’t operate on human terms.
In the Kingdom of God, it’s not about how capable or competent you are that matters. What matters is how captivated you are by the grace of God, and how available you will choose to be for His power to flow through your life.
If you will be foolish enough to surrender to Jesus, to “come and die”, He will give you deeper life than you could ever imagine, purpose like you’ve never dreamed of, and freedom like never before.
The question is, then: how “foolish” are you willing to be?
