The Word for Wednesday: 1 April 2009 Edition

At the encouragement of my friend akaGaGa, I thought I'd make an attempt to post regularly on Wednesdays -- not that I'm doing so well at posting regularly on any days, of course -- with a passage from the Bible as the topic. As it happens, my reading this week has been in 1 Corinthians, and it furnishes forth something appropriate to April Fool's Day. From the first chapter, commencing at verse 18:

For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, 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 cleverness of the clever I will set aside." Where is the wise man? 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 through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.For indeed the Jews ask for signs, and the Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, that, just as it is written, "Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord."

From this, a couple of things occur to me. First is that, as natural people, we don't see things as they really are. That which seems like wisdom to us is really foolish at best, and evil, too, more likely than not. I think that before we can truly see reality, we'll have to become fully real ourselves: a process which begins and, we can hope, progresses somewhat in this life, but can only become complete when we enter into the real life of (and in, and with) Jesus. The other thought that comes to me is that I can be assured that it's when I think I'm at my most clever ... when I really know I'm doing it right, and doing it smart ... that I can be sure I'm really at my very silliest. I hope God has a low sense of humor; if so, while I'm clearly not impressing Him, maybe I'm giving Him a good laugh, anyway.