1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

The moment I read this just now it struck me that all the people who ridicule the Christian message are proclaiming that they are headed for destruction. That has recently been very much on display in the US, with all the response to Mike Johnson being elevated to Speaker of the House. He has been clear and open about his strong Christian faith, and both politicians and media people are having fits. You would think he was advocating having barbecued babies for breakfast! Human intellect and logic have given us many good things, but they have also given us terrible horrors. The Holocaust, for example, was run very efficiently, as was the recent attack by Hamas. As this verse and those that follow point out, there are limits to everything human, but not to the things of God. This verse brings to mind the very wise words of Gamaliel, who was Paul’s mentor before his Damascus Road experience: “Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5:38-39) I would hope that before he died he acknowledged that Jesus was the promised Messiah, but at least he was not an active enemy. The same cannot be said for a lot of the people who are attacking Mike Johnson. All believers need to get it through their heads that we will have opposition, but that doesn’t mean we are wrong. On the contrary, as the military expression has it, it means that we are “over the target.” Every preacher experiences the truth of the words God speaks through them, and Paul had a very strong lesson in the power of God when he pleaded with God three times to get him out of a particular situation: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) We aren’t to depend on human resources of any sort, however many we might think we have, but rather depend fully on God, who is the ultimate Source of every good thing. (James 1:17)

This is something I have had to learn, sometimes painfully. I have been gifted in many ways, and at one time in my life I was foolish enough to think I deserved it! Now, I have far more peace in knowing that all of those things are totally insignificant when compared to God’s perfection, and since He guides and carries me along, it’s no big deal when some of those gifts depart, from age or for any other reason. I have been particularly proud of my relationship with my wife, but just yesterday I proved that I can be insensitive and even cruel, and He reprimanded me for it. I think my repentance was real, but I am never to be surprised at my own imperfection. Rather, just as He has told me to, I am to rest, relax, and rejoice in Him, so that His power may be manifested in my weakness.

Father, thank You for this reminder, putting a focus on the events of yesterday. You are indeed incredibly gracious. Help me let that grace flow through me, rather than hogging it to myself. If I do that, it ceases to be a blessing even to me! May I be an undistorted channel for You to flow through, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!