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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion January 27, 2008 Outsmarted |
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Frontline Devotion for Sunday, January 27, 2008 by Matt Pensinger
1 Corinthians 1:21-25
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God
decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe.
For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ
crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those
who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom
of God. For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is
stronger than human strength.
"In the wisdom of God, the world did not know God THROUGH wisdom." That's hard for me. I think, actually, that that's hard for all of us. It's hard for me, specifically, because I really, really like wisdom. I'm totally an ancient Greek. I love informed discussion, and educated debate, and there's nothing that makes me happier than learning to understand something in a new way... unless it's teaching someone ELSE to understand something in a new way! Knowledge, wisdom, understanding... those are the things that get me going, that energize me. I feel good about something that I'm doing, or something that's going on, if I feel like I understand it. I want to know and to understand the things that are happening around me, in my life and in the world. I want to understand the history and the motivations and the psychology behind them, the things that aren't obvious to everyone, the things that most people won't say. I want to know the WHOLE story. I want to understand everything.
That's why God's choosing to act in the way of the cross trips ME up; maybe it's why it trips you up too. But I think it trips all of us up in another way. Something I hear over and over, something I sometimes say, something you probably do too... why? Why do these things happen? Why can't we know what the next days will be like? Why can't you, why can't we, say things that are more definitive? Why can't we just be certain? Why can't we just say, this is good, that is evil, this is right, that is wrong? Why can't we just praise the people we KNOW are righteous, and condemn the people we KNOW are sinners? We want to know... we want to be certain... we want to be right.
God didn't act in a way that made sense. God didn't act in a way that can be understood or explained or learned, no matter how hard we try, no matter how much we want to know. God didn't act in a way that made sense by any known human standard, acted indeed in a way that was and is offensive by many of our standards of purity and power, of control and authority and order. And... God WANTED it that way. God, I think, wanted to show us the limitations of our wisdom, our understanding, our certainty. God, by the humble submission of Christ on the cross, shows us that WE need to be more humble, less certain, more willing to admit that we might be wrong. Through the wisdom of God, God acted and God continues to act in ways that are often mysterious to us, often much more than they at first appear to be, often needing a lifetime of study and devotion and prayer in order to even begin to understand. Why? Why does God do this? Why doesn't God make it easy for us? Why are things so hard to figure out?
I'm not sure! But what I am sure of is that it was God's wisdom and God's love to do this... because through this, through the mystery and the scandal of Christ, God did something that all human wisdom couldn't understand, that all human strength couldn't accomplish: God redeemed the whole world. Including you. Including me. Figure THAT one out.
Prayer: In the midst of things that we do not understand we turn to you, Lord God, throwing ourselves on your mercy, trusting that your grace is sufficient for us. Give us courage to act boldly, knowing that while we may not know all things, you do, and you will accomplish your work even through us. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
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