“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
That God would come to His created ones in the form of a helpless baby is mind-boggling. Wouldn’t coming as a powerful, superhero-like king make more of a statement? And why have Him some 30 years later humiliated, beaten, and hung on a cross like a sinner? It doesn’t make sense. “Yet, it is that very irrationality that gives the gospel its greatest defense. For only God could love like that” (Max Lucado, 1986).
The Apostle Paul wrote that God will save His people through any means, even ways that look foolish. The intellect of Herod’s advisors and teachers of the law was nothing compared to the gritty, honest, real drawing near to Christ that we will see in the shepherds. It may have seemed strange to have the long-awaited Messiah resting in a feeding trough, but those shepherds believed, didn’t they?
“How absurd to think that such nobility would go to such poverty to share such a treasure with such thankless souls. But he did. In fact, the only thing more absurd than the gift [would be] our stubborn unwillingness to receive it” (Lucado).
The Apostle Paul wrote that God will save His people through any means, even ways that look foolish. The intellect of Herod’s advisors and teachers of the law was nothing compared to the gritty, honest, real drawing near to Christ that we will see in the shepherds. It may have seemed strange to have the long-awaited Messiah resting in a feeding trough, but those shepherds believed, didn’t they?
“How absurd to think that such nobility would go to such poverty to share such a treasure with such thankless souls. But he did. In fact, the only thing more absurd than the gift [would be] our stubborn unwillingness to receive it” (Lucado).
Scripture Focus
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
Insight
God often works in what seems foolish, absurd, unwise. It may look upside down to some, but to those who understand, it is life!
Bible In A Year
- Daniel 1-2
- Proverbs 5
- Hebrews 5-6