Yesterday, I was prepping a Bible study, part of which was on 1 Corinthians 1:20-31. In verses 20&23-25, the Apostle Paul wrote, "Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?... but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength." As I read this passage, I got to thinking about the dual concepts of the "foolishness of God" and "man's wisdom," and what wider concepts came from that.
Obviously, verse 24 tells us that "Christ crucified" is a "stumbling block" and "foolishness" to people, yet is the "power of God and the wisdom of God." Essentially, the "love of God" is foolishness to this world, for the very saving act of Jesus in this world is the definition of love in 1 John 4:10(NIV) "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."
The "foolishness of God" sent the flawless, perfect son of God, Jesus, into this world to live a perfect life, be falsely accused, illegally tortured by religious leaders, and then executed by the state via a brutal, slow death... to save people who didn't love Him or know Him. To save people who would claim to love Him, but would turn around and do the very things, again, Jesus died to save them from. The foolishness of God continues to make perfect people out of those who constantly and daily fail to be all God has called them to be.
The foolishness of God in Christ doesn't end there, though, it calls us to action in bringing His love to other people. Our very identity in Christ is marked by our actions toward others, for as Jesus said "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love on another" (John 13:35). And not only are we called to love one another, but in 1 John 4:19-21(NIV), the Apostle John writes "We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother." Further, in Matthew 5:43-45a(NIV), Jesus states, "You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven."
It's here we see clearly why the world thinks this is "foolishness." The world can trick people into thinking this story of Jesus never really happened... but it can't trick people into being unable to see Christians serving and treating with love everyone, even "enemies." So it calls it foolishness, because the law of the world is to only do what benefits number one; the big M-E. The world tells us to only give our time and energy to those we care about, or to those who "deserve" our time, energy, and resources. Yet not with the Children of God... not with us, Christians. We are to love what God loves... those for whom Jesus died. And according to John 3:16&17, Jesus died for all people. God did not make a "special" people list, where only certain people were allowed to be saved. What right do I have to make that list myself? To pick and choose who should learn that the all-powerful creator of the universe loves them and gave everything to be with them? God's "Will" is already written, and He has written that He "wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4). As his follower... I am merely the executor of that will.
This is a message I need to be reminded of every, single day. Loving people is not easy. A lot of times it is painful, even perilous, work. We are called to love people who do not love us... who may even hate us. We are called to love those whom we may dislike or even hate. Therefore, I have to understand that love is a choice I make... that we all have to make. Our culture tells us love is merely a feeling we have for others. It is so much more than that. We must choose to act lovingly toward people, even when our hearts tell us to do anything, but.
An insurmountable task this seems, and it certainly is! You are completely and totally incapable of showing this kind of unconditional love to other people. Just like me and everyone else on earth, you are a fallen, imperfect person. But as a Christian, that is not the summation of your identity. How did John say we are capable of loving in 1 John 4:19? He wrote, "We love because he first loved us." And in 1 Corinthians 1, what did Paul write is the power of God that we have access to: "Christ crucified." And once again, as the Apostle John wrote in 1 John 4:10, Christ crucified is the very nature of love. We are able to love others because of God's love for us, shown through what Jesus did when He walked this earth.
Ultimately, you will fail to love people perfectly. God knows I do every day, but I live in the love of Christ, as all Christians do. So when we fail, there is still Christ, standing alive after His death, and leaving our sins in hell where they belong.
Go in peace and serve the Lord.
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