Fools for Christ
Just the other day someone on Twitter told me “if you [are] talking to God you are askew. If he talks back you are insane.” That pretty much sums up how the world sees Christians. Praying makes you eccentric but if you claim God is talking back you are crazy. But how else could we be in a relationship with him if we did not communicate with each other? God is alive and well. Why wouldn’t he want to talk to us?
Like apostle Paul said: We are fools for Christ. (1 Cor. 4:10, CEB) The world can’t understand why people take the word of God seriously. People who don’t go after fame and fortune are weird, people who choose to live in underdeveloped countries for the sake of Christ are nuts, people who are willing to do anything for God are lunatics. And how about people who are joyful in the midst of hardships? Faith does indeed look crazy. But looks are deceiving.
The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are being destroyed. But it is the power of God for those of us who are being saved. It is written in scripture: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will reject the intelligence of the intelligent. Where are the wise? Where are the legal experts? Where are today’s debaters? Hasn’t God made the wisdom of the world foolish? In God’s wisdom, he determined that the world wouldn’t come to know him through its wisdom. Instead, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of preaching. Jews ask for signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, which is a scandal to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. But to those who are called—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom. This is because the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. (1 Cor. 1: 18-25, CEB)
The message of the cross is the power of God for those of us who are being saved.
The gift of grace is the most valuable thing in a life of a Christian.
The life with God is the sweetest thing on this earth.
Yet faith is indeed pure madness to the world. The words of Anthony the Great (ca. 251-356) seem prophetic: “Here comes the time, when people will behave like madmen, and if they see anybody who does not behave like that, they will rebel against him and say: “You are mad”, – because he is not like them.”
Unless you have had the Holy Spirit to open your eyes, there is no way you can understand the value of the cross. But if you have embraced grace remember to extend love and grace to those who don’t yet see. Fools for Christ are called to be gentle, loving, joyous, hopeful, peaceful, and – most of all – faithful to our Father in heaven.
Gracious God,
Thank you that faith is a gift meant for everyone.
Thank you that your wisdom is beyond our understanding.
Open our eyes to see you as you are and ourselves as we are.
Be praised forever and ever!
Bless all your fools,
strengthen us in your service.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Q4U: Does the world see you as a fool for Christ?
Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you dare to be a fool for Christ!
Image (“St.Paul preaching in Athens” by Raphael) courtesy of Wikimedia. Linking up today with What’s on Your Heart Tuesdays & Soli Deo Gloria & One Word at a Time: Madness Blog Carnival.
21 thoughts on “Fools for Christ”
Wonderful prayer.
Thank you, Denise! May God bless you and keep you now and forever.
I read the Book of Job this morning & then your post. God is the Almighty, I must be a fool in the eyes of the world! This scripture has stuck with me this a.m.; Job 28:28, And he said to man, “The fear of the Lord- that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.” Praise be to God through Jesus Christ, amen.
Such a great word, Susan! Thanks for sharing! It’s good to be fools for Christ together. Blessings to you, sis!
Yes. Some see us as fools, but hold no pity in their hearts for fools, only contempt. If we are to follow Him, we must love them anyway, which seems only to compound the foolishness. But then, God loves us, which, from a human perspective, doesn’t seem all that wise either… I am so thankful that He does.
Me, too. God’s amazing love for us makes all the difference! Thank you for chiming in. God bless you richly, sis!
I am happy to be a fool for Christ..thank you for this post!
Thank you, Melissa! May God bless you now and forever!
Being a fool for Christ is what inspired the title of my blog- Wisdom of a Fool.
It’s funny you mention twitter, I recently had someone say something very similar to me about talking to God. I’ve also had some conversations along this line recently and am praying the other person will soon have their eyes and ears opened to the revelations of Christ.
Thank you for your comment. I love the name of your blog! Very clever! I join you in your prayer for wide open spiritual eyes! Abundant blessings to you!
Thanks, when you have time, please come over and take a peak at it.
God bless.
Mari-Anna, what a wonderful post.
I experienced first hand people treating me as if I was a mad person a few months ago, when I quit my job (with excellent salary and benefits) because I believe (still do!) that God wanted me to.
I was (still am) so certain of my choice that I think it was even more hard for them to understand.
What they don’t get is that a job is just a job. A good salary is nothing compared to having a relationship with God.
But I pray that they will get it someday… And become “fools” themselves for the glory of the Lord!
Thanks for chiming in and sharing your adventures in the Lord. We do need other fellow fools for Christ to encourage each other on our pilgrimage. The world can not understand us. But that’s okay, we keep on praying for them. Wonderful to be on the Way with you, Cris. Abundant blessings on you as you follow Christ with all your heart and mind!
May we all be crazy for God and allow Him to speak back to us when we talk to Him.
Amen. Thank you, Hazel. God’s precious blessings!
Everything you said was so true in our present world… and has been the same during many times and in many places. One of hugest blessing has been that I CAN hear the Lord tell me what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. If it wasn’t b/c of that I couldn’t have the confidence to serve Him in the right place, right time.
One constant challenge I face: grandkids who don’t understand that there are any boundaries or constrictions when it comes to sexual activity in our present day world. And the oldest is 17, so no adults. But somehow have that buried in their hearts. And my husband and I can’t make their views change… we certainly express concern, to say the least, but can’t change their lives. Only HE can! And they will face much in their cultural social lives if they don’t just float around with that vast majority. It’s pretty sad… and very tough.
Thanks for sharing. Always good — even when the topic isn’t “good”.
Thank you, Joanne, for your thoughtful comment. I agree…without being able to communicate with God we would be all lost. It is indeed such a blessing to be in relationship with Jesus. But, sadly, the world can not understand this.
Thank you also for sharing the challenge with the grandkids. I hear you. The message Hollywood is sending out is so strong that it is hard to beat that. But we can pray. And God really can do what we can not do!
Abundant blessings to you and yours! May He draw your grandkids to him and show them what real love is.
Fools for Christ in this is the only thing that’s going to make any difference in eternity.
That’s right. Thank you, Ivan, for chiming in. BLESSINGS!
Your recent post about hidden “sins” had me thinking. I sometimes try to appear sensible in the world. I probably shouldn’t worry about such things.
My relationship with God is open and honest as far as I know. It started for me with the first word of the Lord’s own prayer. “Our”. That word tells me that I might be crazy but I’m not alone on earth as it is in heaven. Thanks again for bloggin. I’ll try and find you on Twitter. I always enjoy your posts.
Thanks so much, Laurie, for encouragement and sharing your thoughts! I hear you. I try to be somewhat sensible, too. Like being sensible would “secure” me a place in this world! We are different and we can’t hide that. That’s why it is such a blessing not to be alone; We are part of the body of Christ!
Abundant blessings to you! And thanks for connecting on Twitter, too!