August 5

The Foolishness of Brilliance

Today’s Scripture Readings: Psalm 83:9-16 | Ezra 1:1 – 2:70 | 

1 Corinthians 1:18 – 2:5 |  Proverbs 20:22-23

Today’s Scripture Focus: 1 Corinthians 1

“I know very well how foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction. But we who are being saved recognize this message as the very power of God. As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy human wisdom and discard their most brilliant ideas” (1 Corinthians 1:18-19  NLT).

I was invited to the home of two college professors to fellowship with one of their colleagues. They all had advanced degrees in science. Often the conversation moved toward advanced topics in chemistry. I’m sure the conversation was brilliant. But to me it seemed like foolishness. It was over my head. I didn’t get it.    

Many of the greatest minds of history have found their revolutionary ideas to be rejected initially because they seemed to be foolishness. People just couldn’t understand.

Imagine trying to understand the wisdom of the most brilliant being in the universe—the creator of the universe. Is it any wonder that Paul tells us that the message of the cross is foolishness to many?

It does seem foolish that God would love us so much that he would send his Son to die for us in the most cruel, shameful way possible: a cross. That which was an instrument of death became an instrument of life to all who would believe. That which was meant for defeat revealed God’s great triumphant victory. What others had meant for evil, God used for the ultimate good.

We will never be able to completely comprehend the brilliance of God’s plan—his wisdom is beyond ours. But what we do know is that God loves foolish people like you and me and seems to delight in transforming the foolish, to frustrate the wisdom of this world.  How does he do that?  He accomplishes his plan by the foolishness of preaching the foolish message of the cross to the foolish people of the world (like you and me). Does that seem foolish to you? I think it’s brilliant!

Lord, thank you for the cross. Thank you for loving me and making a way for me to enter into eternal life. Give me your wisdom today and empower me to put your truths into practice. Amen.