Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1 v 24 - 29: "But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence."
In order to save the world, God has to show us how artificial the world really is. We are born into this world as sinners, but why, when did we sin?
We are born in a body of flesh into which our eternal spirit and our soul are placed while we are still in the womb. No wonder our first sound is a cry of shock.
God made a plan for us to show forth His glory through being born again of the Spirit. He said unless we are born again we cannot perceive or know Heaven. So the natural man, unregenerated, cannot see or understand spiritual things. The natural, worldly man will mock and scoff at such things.
God knows the ways of the world to be money, sex, parties, big business, status, pride, ambition, university degrees, mansions, wealth, admiration. That is the ultimate dream of success for the world, riches, possessions and being envied. Self made Man with no need of God or His help.
There is a line drawn in the sand by God which we step over when we enter His Kingdom. The enemy is determined to draw us back into his hellish realm by any means possible, dirty tricks are his trade. On God's side of the line we are on solid Rock, truly safe and protected. The other side is like quicksand, dressed up to look harmless and enjoyable, but it sucks us in and to escape it is not at all easy.
In order to get our attention God has to use someone with zero status or hope in this world in whom the power of the Holy Spirit is manifested. A person who is at the very least a curiosity. A humble, gentle soul without ambition or guile, to bring the light of Jesus to a proud person.
That no flesh should glory in His presence.
God has chosen base and despised people to shine truth into the hearts of the mighty. This still may not work if the mighty refuse to receive anything from such lowly people. That is the gamble they must make with their own eternity.
The foolishness of God is higher than the wisdom of men and His weakness is higher than our strength, which makes Him able to choose how He deals with our pride.
Deuteronomy 8 v 16 - 19: "Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;
17 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.
18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.
19 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish."
Jesus Christ and God the Father never change. What was good and righteous and holy since the beginning remains right in their eyes. What was wrong, evil and sinful in the Old Testament is still wrong today. Living in the modern era does not make God's Word redundant and out of step with today's reality. His Word is what us humans must live by to find our eternal home.
Deuteronomy 8 v 2 - 3: "And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live."
These are ancient words written by Moses who had very personal dealings with God from receiving his calling from the "I Am" in the burning bush on a mountain to 80 days on a mountain receiving the tablets of stone (twice). Twice because he came down from the mountain top to find all Israel involved in idolatry of a golden calf.
He smashed the two stone tablets and God called him back for another forty days to do another set. These were placed in the Ark of the Covenant together with Aaron's rod from an almond tree, and a pot of manna. His rod budded and the manna stayed fresh.
However, God's Word is that important and will never lose its importance no matter what worldly men and women think. I have known some meek, humble and despised people who shone with grace.
One man called Johan, an Afrikaner in apartheid South Africa, was a policeman. Unsaved and uncouth. At that time there was a curfew upon black African people who had to be in their homes by 9.00p.m. every night. Johan saw one such man leaving a shop after the hour of curfew and he accosted him and threw him to the ground.
The man looked up at him and said, who gives you the right to harm a Child of God. Johan was stunned and at a loss for words. He was a staunch churchgoer but did not know Jesus. The insulted man on the ground asked Johan if he knew Jesus. All of a sudden this proud policeman was on his knees on the pavement, weeping as the convicting power of the Holy Spirit overwhelmed him. This precious African believer led Johan to the Lord right there and from hostile strangers they became brothers. Johan went on to become a pastor and established a mission to minister to African people. Our God is no respecter of persons!
God chooses the vessel from which He will pour out His blessings. It may be chipped and cracked on the outside but pure gold within. Maybe we have in the past discarded such a cup as being unworthy to satisfy us and missed a life-changing moment in the presence of God. Maybe we need to repent of such arrogance and humble ourselves to allow God to choose what is best for us.
Prayer: Heavenly Father we humbly lift our hands in praise and worship of You. Forgive us if we have ignored or neglected to hear one of Your lowly servants sent to uplift us. Show us what we have left undone and let us repair the breach. In Jesus's name. Amen.