I was following behind a red SUV in town when I noticed the bumper sticker.
The fool says in his heart there is no God.
I mulled this over in my brain for awhile. Certainly it's true: there is a God and you'd be a fool not to get in on the free gift that He's giving out. But is it so easy peasy lemon squeezy that I can just start pointing at people and yelling "You are a fool, and you are a fool!" (a la the famous Oprah Show episode when she gives out all of those cars). I don't think so.
And so I was a bit troubled by the sticker. I wasn't sure what it was trying to prove. 1. That the driver is no longer a fool because he/she believes in God? 2. That you are a fool and therefore you should believe in God so you become less foolish? 3. If you're not going to believe in God you should at least keep quiet so that you don't sound like the fool that you actually are?
None of these make me feel comfortable, considering the big picture of God's unbeatable grace. It just didn't seem like a good preaching tool. "Hi, you're a fool. Let me tell you why you shouldn't be." So, in my silent heart I started resenting this bumper sticker. The intentions of the car owner were probably great, and that very bumper sticker may have converted a multitude of lost souls, but I don't want to plaster it on my vehicle. It's not a lifesaving verse in that it speaks of our finite minds but nothing of Jesus's sacrifice for those minds, those souls.
But what was David trying to say here in Psalm 14? He was pretty troubled by the people who were "devouring [his] people as though eating bread". Whoa, ok I understand. He was anguished by the evildoers of the world because they were causing harm to Irsael. Israel has enemies. I have opportunities. No one is too far gone from God's grip of grace.
I'm a fool. And it's only because of the Holy Spirit's intervention that I can stand in this grace. I did nothing to earn or achieve God's love, so in and of myself I am no better than anyone else. That's the beauty of it. It's Christ in me that changes everything. Because of him I have purpose and delight and a home in Heaven.
I want to live the story of God's love, with or without a bumper sticker. And ya, you'd be utterly foolish to turn him away, but I'm not going to tell you that… I'm going to prove it to you.
