Stephen preached from 1 Cor 1:25-31 this morning, focussing especially on vs 25, which seems to have been a recurring theme lately: “for the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”
He has been working on the suspension of a Mini recently, using the trusted Haynes’ manual to guide him through repairs. The ‘difficulty’ rating of this job was 4, higher than ones he had previously done.
The first side took time, but was completed successfully; when working on the second side, however, it took longer and one of the new parts just would not fit in the right place. No matter what force or strength Stephen used, it would not go into place and it appeared that the job would not be completed.
After much prayer, Stephen reached the conclusion he had come to the end of both his wisdom and strength, but ‘it’s got to be simple’! One part was rotated and hey!presto! the other part clicked into place. Sometimes we don’t have all the answers or all the strength to complete a job. God’s never in that position, however!
God is neither foolish nor weak, but from our human perspective, He can certainly seem so. The things He does and the way in which He works often look foolish to us. Salvation appears foolish to our natural wisdom, but we have to receive His free gift by faith. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross appeared foolish to many, for He chose not to save Himself, but to sacrifice Himself for our sins. We have to learn to see things with spiritual, not natural, eyes.
Verse 25 teaches us:
(1) God often carries out His mightiest plans in ways that seem weak or foolish to us.
(2) God is great. If His ‘lowest’ powers are so much greater than our ‘highest’ ones, He must be great! Our most amazing creations and achievements are nothing compared to God’s. He is the Almighty!