“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.” (1 Cor. 1:18)

The New Life Version reads this way: “Preaching about the cross sounds foolish to those who are dying in sin. But it is the power of God to those of us who are being saved from the punishment of sin.”

Let me first begin by stating that this ‘message of the cross’ that Paul refers to… entails so much more than just exhorting folks to profess a faith in Christ in order to escape an eternal hell when they die.

It can be a delicate matter when you think about messages and ‘messaging’. Untold amounts of money are spent daily in this world trying to communicate and convey all kinds of information to the masses. And it’s not only the information that one is trying to get out there that matters, but it’s the way in which that message is being transmitted that carries so much weight. Think about the amount of detail that goes in to making sure the spokesperson for a product/idea reflects the presumed effectiveness that the message or product a company wants people to be drawn to. In other words, what kind of products would you most likely NOT…be asked to market and become the ‘face of’? There are numerous ones that come to my mind for me personally, but I digress.

Have you ever heard or used the expression: “Don’t shoot the messenger”? It implies that when someone doesn’t like a message being given, then all the ‘negative energy’ tends to be directed at the one who delivers that message, instead of the message itself. Stephen was brought before the high priest and local religious council in Acts 7 and asked to deliver a message that was not well received, evident by him being stoned to death when he finished (57-60). The religious crowd back in Jesus’s day were not overly receptive to the message He came to share…and they nailed Him to a tree. It happens.

Where this gets interesting… when it comes to delivering or preaching the message of the cross that Paul speaks of in our opening text…is we ‘messengers’ forget the responsibility we have to appropriately reflect and model that very message we’ve been commissioned to deliver. There was good reason why Jesus told His closest followers to ‘wait until they were endued with power from on high’…before they went out to be a ‘witness’ of this gospel message. (Luke 24:47-49; Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8).

You might say that Jesus knew the importance of ‘having the goods yourself’ before you try to convince others they too…should consider what it is you have to offer. Do you recall the words Peter spoke to that lame man at the gate in front of the temple before God raised him up miraculously? He told him: “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have…I give to you; In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he did. (Acts 3:1-6)

It’s hard to give away something that you, yourself… don’t possess. So when Jesus informs us that ‘all people will know we are His followers by the love we demonstrate towards one another’ (John 13:35)…it make sense that we might first examine our own hearts/lives to ensure we don’t interfere or hinder His message from being received (2 Cor. 13:5). I’m pretty sure that was the ‘message’ Francis of Assisi was wanting to convey in that well known quote I used in my graphic today.

So now, back to this point that Paul makes regarding how this ‘message of the cross’ can often time be perceived as ‘foolishness’. What is it about this gospel message that would come across as sounding absurd or silly to ‘those who are perishing’? Telling people that ‘God loves them’ is non-threatening nor controversial, I would think.

I can see where confronting people with their ‘sins’ might be ‘offensive’ and get you ‘run out of town’, if not ‘stoned’ like what we saw happened to Stephen in Acts 7. But ‘foolishness’? What do you think? There might even be a ‘non-believer’ or two who comes across this message today and would feel free chiming in here, and I’d welcome you to do so :- ). Is it this idea that people believe in ‘life after death’ that sounds silly and foolish? Or is it something else? (I have a hunch I know what it might be, and I touched on it in my last post from the other day).

The moment we begin to explore the possibility that there also exists in this life (and world)…a ‘spiritual realm’…we step into a subject matter that many become uncomfortable with; and how often do people tend to want to ‘laugh’ when they feel uneasy or nervous? And yes, as I mentioned the other day, you cannot explore and discuss the ‘spiritual realm/world’ without introducing this idea that ‘spirits’, both good and evil …exist. And that’s when you begin to lose folks with the chuckles and eye-rolls.

Trust me…I remember vividly, that first night at work, after I had prayed to ‘turn my life over to Jesus’ at the age of 20, I felt like I was being bombarded immediately with waves of skepticism and doubts and negative thoughts as I began second guessing myself and my decision to ‘draw close to God’. And when the gentleman who had prayed for me to make that first step explained that ‘demons’ were the source of that negative wave of force I was being ‘attacked’ with, I was ready to jump ship right then and there. Talk about ‘foolish talk’…I didn’t have time for such nonsense. That is, until I got home later that evening and God ‘opened my eyes’ and made it quite clear that this new life and walk with Him did indeed involve a ‘spiritual world’ with a ‘spiritual enemy’. To this day, it was the most terrifying experience I ever had. If you care to read about it, I’ll post a link in the second comment box below (here on my FB page).

Fortunately, for me…I did not ‘jump ship’… and actually found deliverance and freedom, along with an abundance of peace by drawing closer to Jesus in that moment and not turning away from Him. So maybe we can pick up with more of this presumed ‘nonsense’ tomorrow with the hopes that those who are ‘perishing’…might give this message a second consideration. (Remember- I’m in a different time zone on a different continent this next week so I may be hit and miss)

(Link to that experience I had-https://foodforsheep.blogspot.com/2023/06/i-can-remember-that-night-that-took.html)