Fools for Christ

The world looks at us and thinks that we are fools compared to their great wisdom. Think for a moment at the life of Noah during those 120 years that he was building the ark. Noah was a preacher of righteousness to the people around him. In his preaching, he must have proclaimed the judgment day was coming. He proclaimed that this judgment was going to include rain and a flood and that anyone who did not repent and turn to God will not survive. The only way to survive was to repent and then they could enter the ark he was building and live. But no one heeded his preaching. (This is the frustration of every preacher.)

Just imagine the responses from the people in his neighborhood and any passerby. “There goes foolish Noah, day in and day out building this huge ship in a dry land. It is too big for any local river and he will not get it down to the Persian Gulf. And what is this thing he calls rain anyway? And what is this thing called a flood? This is foolish talk. We don’t need to repent. We are doing just fine.”

And then the rains came and the floods rose.

Today is becoming more and more like the days of Noah. We preach that the Bible is the word of God and that it is our rule for faith and practice. But the world says “you are foolish. It is an ancient book and outdated and needs to be seen only as good stories but not to be followed.”

We preach that people need to repent of their sins and turn to God in obedience and holy living. But the world says, “You are foolish.  We all make mistakes, we just need to love and accept one another and God will let everyone go to heaven.”

We preach there is a heaven yes, but there is a hell too. Both of these are eternal, one eternal life and blessing, the other eternal death, torment, and suffering. The world says, “no, you are so foolish. The most hardened criminals and evil people, like Hitler, bin Laden, and Ted Bundy, will be annihilated (cease to exist), but everyone else will go to heaven. It doesn’t matter if they loved God in this life or not because he loves them.”

Let us rejoice that we are called fools for Christ. It is better to be a fool for Christ than to be a fool in this world.

                                                                        In Christ Alone