Wednesday 16 September 2009

Foolishness to the world

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not
God made foolish the wisdom of the world?For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

(1 Cor 1:18-25)
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if you look at the way we talk about Christ
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you realise this... to people who don’t see it comes across as mere folly
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why do we preach an empty tomb, a innocent man convicted who was hung and who died
when to others it just seems like a mere story that happened long ago...
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why do we tell about a God who apparently can listen to us, can comfort us, that is so personal to us
yet it might seem like the random illusions cast by children with imaginary friends or schizophrenic mental patients
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why do we tell about assurance of salvation, of hope and future
when to others it merely seems like a form of escapism from the harsh reality of this world
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this is what God means to me
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an all powerful, righteous and awe-some God
the God who holds the universe in the mere width of His palm
who is beyond time, beyond space
beyond all the limitations of the physical world
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yet who created order and the physical universe
and made the laws of physics that govern this world
a God of order
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yet a God who cares so much for each individual
that the very mere detail like the number of strands of hair each person has is numbered
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this is what the Cross means
it shows me to what length God loves us
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I know that one way a person demonstrates Love
Love is more than just gifts
more than just words
but Love demands presence and touch
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so God came down as Jesus on the Cross
a perfect gift which was so perfect it could carry all the sins of the world
yet a gift that cost so dearly, it demanded so much
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and this is what the resurrection means to me
it shows me that God can do all things
it shows me how God keeps his promises
it shows me how God has won victory over the price of sin - death
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and you cannot simply say it was just an empty tomb when hundreds have seen Jesus alive after He was buried

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this is what Christianity means to me
its not a set of rituals one follows to gain nirvana or eternal life
its about experiencing God in a way that cant be described
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its not a fashion accessory that is tagged on as another separate part of life
but something that demands everything in life to be consumed with
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and I quote CS lewis:
I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
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to many, its just another religion, another foolish religion
or worse, a cult of weirdos and strange delusional people
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even as I was interrogated today,
as a form of ‘entertainment’
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but to me, it means everything

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