Hammer on Anvil '

Yes, I know it's Wednesday. Yes it is "hump day." That's not what I'm talking about though.

It's National Absurdity Day! 

Yep, that's right. November 20th is National Absurdity Day. Now I know some of you out there will think that here in the USA, everyday seems to be Absurdity Day. But the difference is, today people are encouraged to be absurd.

I was a little disappointed though. As I did some research online (aka quickly searched a few pages of Google) I didn't find any National Absurdity Day celebrations. None! 

This would be the perfect day to play football with a rotten pineapple, bungee jump with a puppy, or see how many mallow dogs you can eat in one sitting (thank you Duck Dynasty).

After I got over my disappointment I began to think about other things people consider absurd. You know what I came up with?

Christianity.

It's true! Throughout the history of Christianity, people have considered it to be a bit "out there." 

For starters we talk about eating the body of Christ and drinking His blood. That sounds a tiny bit like cannibalism. In fact, some thought Christians were cannibals. They didn't understand we weren't actually eating or promoting eating people. It was a bit odd. Actually, I just discovered a blog where someone still calls Christians cannibals, so that is still happening. For those who don't know, we eat bread and drink grape juice (or wine) to remember that Jesus' body was broken and bled for us. We want to remember His sacrifice. 

Then there is the whole "brothers & sisters" thing. We call other Christians that, but then we also marry each other. Some have thought throughout history that Christians believed in incest. Again, not actually brothers and sisters, just the bond we have as God's children. But when first hearing those words, it seems a bit absurd.

There are lots of other ways people consider Christians absurd. 

We believe Jesus actually raised from the dead.

We believe in a God we have never laid eyes on.

We pray to this invisible God.

Terrible events happen in the world, yet we have faith in God and believe He loves us.

There are so many ways the Christian faith seems absurd to those who do not believe. This shouldn't be a surprise to us though. Even in Scripture we are told:

                          "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are 

                           perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

                                                                                         (1 Corinthians 1:18)

The truth is, we look downright foolish to those outside of Christ. We look absurd. How can we expect anything different though? They have not experienced grace. They do not have the Spirit guiding them. Their eyes have not been open to the truth. Living in darkness, they do not want the Light.

Even though others may find us foolish, we must continue living according to God's word. We are still expected to live in love, extending forgiveness and grace and mercy. We should trust in God when it makes absolutely no sense to those on the outside.

Because, it's the only thing that makes sense. For those who have been saved, following God and living out His commands is the wisest thing we can do. Without God, I couldn't make it through each day. I couldn't deal with the pain and heartache that is present everywhere. 

I would have no joy,

no peace,

no love,

no compassion,

no purpose.

Quite honestly, I need Him. He is the only thing in this world that isn't absurd.