God does not play our game. We ask what his name is and he answers,
“I am who I am.”
We ask where he is and he says,
“Surely I am with you always.”
We cry out against the cruelty of the world but he responds,
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
We question why life is so hard and God says,
“Did I not tell you? In this world you will have trouble. Take heart! I have overcome the world.”
A few nights ago I watched a church volunteer pull a sweatshirt from his backpack and hand it to a homeless man without preamble. That simple action resounded deeply within me and caused me to consider just how strange his action was. Strange, that is, to the world; to Christianity it made perfect sense.
God does not give us the answers we expect, nor does he tell us to act how the world acts. If he did, would he really be a Sovereign God? Instead, he tells us to do things that we think are crazy. When we question him, he does not tell us his whole plan but asks that we simply trust him.
The world tells us to take care of the poor, yes. However, it convinces us that we should ensure our own well-being first. But the Bible tells us to give the very coat off our backs. In terms of the world, that makes no sense – then we will be the ones who are cold and in need of a coat. But God asks us to trust him.
The world tells us to secure a good career. But you will find Christians all over the world living in poverty without steady income for the sole purpose of spreading the Gospel. And you will find that they are some of the happiest, most deeply fulfilled people you will ever meet.
In light of recent events, the world proclaims war, revenge, and distrust. Christianity answers with forgiveness and love. We are not very popular for this particular line of thinking, if you hadn’t noticed. After all, Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world”.
Much of Christianity is in direct opposition to what the world believes. It seems ludicrous, counter-intuitive – foolish, you might say. But like I said before, if we followed a God we understood and whose decrees fit perfectly into our scheduled lives, would he really be God at all?
If you take Christianity at its word, specifically that we live in a fallen world and that Christ is the only way out, then nothing he proclaims seems so foolish anymore. Of course we may not always understand it at the time – without his coat the Christian man might be cold for a few nights – but in the context of eternity we have no ability to comprehend the ramifications of our actions. Only God does. And he’s asking us to trust him, even when it seems foolish to our eyes. Our faith shouldn’t appear normal to the outside world, because it isn’t normal. In fact, it’s a little bit crazy.
“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.”
Scripture:
Exodus 3:14
Matthew 28:20
Psalm 46:10
John 16:33
John 15:18-19
1 Corinthians 1:18
