Be a fool
Posted in foolish, Red Beard's Posts 3 comments
1 Corinthians 1:18 - For 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.
All of my ways are foolishness. Both when I'm being a fool and then also when I'm being a fool. Pretty interesting eh?
I'm a fool to those around me when I surrender to Christ and pursue him wildly and with full abandon to his will. People just can't imagine why such zeal should be wasted on religion or can't even see a need for it. You are foolish to believe that there is only one way to God because there's so many people and so many cultures and such great diversity. Why on earth would there be only one path? Foolish or intolerant even to suggest Christ is the ultimate truth and only in him and through him can we hope to be reconciled to God. Foolish to hope when all others around you despair.
I'm a fool because my sin is enticing enough for a moment to quiet the objections of my inner spirit man and allow myself to dive head first into sin. I'm a fool because I've not taken seriously that God is righteous and holy. I'm a fool because I crucify him all over again whom has already been crucified. Foolish to press forward in sin because I know that his grace will cover me. Foolish in my failure
Foolish not to try and press in to Christ though. Foolish to let my foolishness stop me from being a fool for Christ ;)
We'll be foolish because our beliefs don't line up with the intellectuals of today. We'll be foolish because our beliefs at first consideration seems backwards or unreasoned to a progressive and scientific society. We'll be foolish because to believe that any whale could swallow a man and that he could live. We'll be foolish to believe that God created the heavens and the earth. We'll be foolish because our faith exists without the need for signs and wonders. We'll be foolish because we believe that Christ will come again.
I know it's tough especially in middle school and high school to look like an idiot or a fool, but just remember that's really about the only option. It will be tough and that is part of the Christian faith. You'll have to expect that and to persevere. You'll have to say "I don't know" to a lot of questions that people ask, but then you get the chance to really dig into and study why what we believe is true and learn to go deeper in order to defend the faith. Not to be dogmatic or stubborn, but to be well reasoned and prepared. You yourself will have to seek out the truth in Christ's word. This isn't just a faith for old ladies anymore you have to take up the cross daily.
All of my ways are foolishness. Both when I'm being a fool and then also when I'm being a fool. Pretty interesting eh?
I'm a fool to those around me when I surrender to Christ and pursue him wildly and with full abandon to his will. People just can't imagine why such zeal should be wasted on religion or can't even see a need for it. You are foolish to believe that there is only one way to God because there's so many people and so many cultures and such great diversity. Why on earth would there be only one path? Foolish or intolerant even to suggest Christ is the ultimate truth and only in him and through him can we hope to be reconciled to God. Foolish to hope when all others around you despair.
I'm a fool because my sin is enticing enough for a moment to quiet the objections of my inner spirit man and allow myself to dive head first into sin. I'm a fool because I've not taken seriously that God is righteous and holy. I'm a fool because I crucify him all over again whom has already been crucified. Foolish to press forward in sin because I know that his grace will cover me. Foolish in my failure
Foolish not to try and press in to Christ though. Foolish to let my foolishness stop me from being a fool for Christ ;)
We'll be foolish because our beliefs don't line up with the intellectuals of today. We'll be foolish because our beliefs at first consideration seems backwards or unreasoned to a progressive and scientific society. We'll be foolish because to believe that any whale could swallow a man and that he could live. We'll be foolish to believe that God created the heavens and the earth. We'll be foolish because our faith exists without the need for signs and wonders. We'll be foolish because we believe that Christ will come again.
I know it's tough especially in middle school and high school to look like an idiot or a fool, but just remember that's really about the only option. It will be tough and that is part of the Christian faith. You'll have to expect that and to persevere. You'll have to say "I don't know" to a lot of questions that people ask, but then you get the chance to really dig into and study why what we believe is true and learn to go deeper in order to defend the faith. Not to be dogmatic or stubborn, but to be well reasoned and prepared. You yourself will have to seek out the truth in Christ's word. This isn't just a faith for old ladies anymore you have to take up the cross daily.
3 comments:
We certainly seem foolish to nonChristians because of our faith, and we certainly do foolish things considering what we believe (like disobey God), but many Christians take this to mean that there aren't good answers to any of the challenges people raise towards Christianity. This can make us look foolish in the sense that we're anti-intellectual and ignorant, and I don't think this is a good foolishness. So I think Christians just need to be careful not to say that Christianity itself is foolishness.
I think you may have misunderstood my point. I was not trying to say that there is no intellect or reason behind our faith. Both play an important role in belief. Rather that when an answer to a question eludes us then we get the chance to dig in and study to search out those answers. I've seen too many Christians clam up or spew out some dogmatic incoherent answer to a question that they really don't know the answer to just because they think they should have an answer on the spot to any possible question that could be raised. For most people outside of academia the training is there so it's pretty intimidating to be faced with those tough questions that are raised. So I wanted to encourage Christians to look past this fear of looking stupid that too often prevents us from ever even bringing up these topics in conversation with someone that might have an opposing view. We already look stupid to most non-christians anyway so we can really only gain credibility for our openness and willingness to discuss and admit what we don't know.
grammar FAIL.
should have been
"For most people outside of academia the training isn't there so"
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