Foolish Things

I love this verse in 1 Corinthians chapter one where Paul writes, “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are.”

It’s pretty amazing when you stop and begin to digest this passage.

When you investigate the claim made by Paul you begin to realize that he’s really not stretching the truth at all.

Paul’s own life is the perfect example of this.

He was the number one persecutor of Christ followers in his day.

Then, God got a hold of him one day and knocked him off his… uh… donkey.

After Paul’s (then called Saul) encounter with Jesus his life was forever changed.

He went from persecutor to preacher seemingly overnight.

If it were me, I think I’d make Paul wait and prove himself to be not a persecutor for at least a week or something.

I mean seriously, a day before his encounter with Christ, Paul is on a mission to arrest more followers of, “The Way.”

Maybe God got it wrong, maybe Paul/Saul slipped through His screening process, maybe one of the angels made a mistake when passing along resumes to the almighty…

Or.

Maybe God’s just gracious like that.

Maybe God’s willing to take us and use us in our current condition.

He’s willing to accept us for who we are and see potential in us that we didn’t see in ourselves.

He did that with Paul and He’s shown a propensity to use the unqualified for amazing miracles.

I love this verse in 1 Corinthians chapter one where Paul writes, “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are.”

It’s pretty amazing when you stop and begin to digest this passage.

When you investigate the claim made by Paul you begin to realize that he’s really not stretching the truth at all.

Paul’s own life is the perfect example of this.

He was the number one persecutor of Christ followers in his day.

Then, God got a hold of him one day and knocked him off his… uh… donkey.

After Paul’s (then called Saul) encounter with Jesus his life was forever changed.

He went from persecutor to preacher seemingly overnight.

If it were me, I think I’d make Paul wait and prove himself to be not a persecutor for at least a week or something.

I mean seriously, a day before his encounter with Christ, Paul is on a mission to arrest more followers of, “The Way.”

Maybe God got it wrong, maybe Paul/Saul slipped through His screening process, maybe one of the angels made a mistake when passing along resumes to the almighty…

Or.

Maybe God’s just gracious like that.

Maybe God’s willing to take us and use us in our current condition.

He’s willing to accept us for who we are and see potential in us that we didn’t see in ourselves.

He did that with Paul and He’s shown a propensity to use the unqualified for amazing miracles.

Abraham
Liar, Elderly & Sterile…
…Father of Nations

Jacob
Thief, Liar & Deceiver…
…Father of the 12 Tribes of Israel

Moses
Murderer & Stutterer…
…Led the God’s people out of slavery

Rahab
Prostitute, call girl, street walker…
…Helped Israelite spies escape Jericho

Sampson
Covenant breaker…
…Hero God used to save Israel

Gideon
Coward, least in his family…
…Hero who once again saves Israel

David
Scrawny musician, youngest brother…
…Became Israel’s King

David (Part 2)
Adulterer, Assassin & Conspirator…
…A man after God’s own heart?

Solomon
Love child (conceived in affair)…
…Built God’s Temple

Israel’s Kings
Each one virtually worse than the previous…
…Placed in authority by God

Prophets
Cooked food using dung for fuel, married prostitute, lying around naked…
…Chosen to Speak for God

Mary
Unwed Teen Pregnancy…
…Gave birth to the Savior of all mankind

John the Baptist
Locust eater w/ no fashion sense…
…Prepared the way for Jesus & baptized Him

Jesus
Plain looking, unassuming homeless man…
…Savior and Lord of All

Disciples
Uneducated fishermen, crooked tax collectors, anarchist, dishonest, stiff necked & unbelieving…
…Chosen by Jesus to change the world

Peter

Quick tempered, potty-mouthed, Christ denying no good…
…Cornerstone for the NT church

Paul
Working to arrest all Christ followers in his path…
…Author of most of the NT, Evangelist, Church Planter

And the list could go on.

God’s will always gets accomplished. The question is, “Are you in? Do you want to be used by God to bring about His purposes?”

I do.

I’m really happy to know that I’m qualified to start now, just as I am.

2 thoughts on “Foolish Things

  1. For Moses worse than stuttering (He actually spoke quite well – see acts 7). 80, washed-up, low self esteem, and life passed him by. That’s when God starts using him. When he thinks he can’t, God chooses him.

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