Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 NIV
God is….
Purposeful. He chose the way of salvation and knowledge of God with great intent. It’s such a beautiful picture. The weak, lowly, despised things canceling out the haughty, proud, honored things through the power of God. The power of love really is stronger than anything else. I love that God chose such a way.
The ultimate Power. I love the power that shines through in these verses. God is more powerful than anything. I love how thinking about these verses for the last few days has me thinking about the wisdom and power of God involved in the design of God. God’s design of the plan of salvation is so upside-down and nothing a human would have ever thought of. God has the power of being the designer of the system of the Universe. Just thinking about that gives me a confidence boost!
Shrewd. This wisdom of God reminds me of Jesus’ command to be “as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16 NIV). God’s wisdom and strategy designed how God won over evil. God knew how evil would try to win, and God works in such a way that He is able to even make evil work for good. After all, the death of death came through dying.* Evil would have never considered that to be a remote possibility. If it had, it wouldn’t have killed the Lord of glory.
Therefore I am….
Useful. This connection reminds me of Ephesians 2:10. I have been created to do good works, which God prepared for me to do. God purposefully designed me for certain good. That’s really cool! The other day I realized that even if God knew that I would be where I am today, He still chose to put my in my mother’s womb. My mother, who lives over a thousand miles away from me and is part of a much different culture, was the perfect starting point for my journey to where I am today. God has a strategy and a plan, and it is really cool to realize that I am a part of it! And so was my starting point in my mother’s womb!
A vessel of God’s power. Once again tonight I think of John 7:38, where Jesus promises that rivers of living water will flow from within me. And by “rivers of living water,” the author of John says that Jesus meant the Holy Spirit. It is promised that the Holy Spirit will flow from within me. That ultimate power of life will flow from me. I would like to sing and dance about that one! Not a few drops, not a stream, or a creak, or even a spring, or even a single river. No rivers. Lots and lots of the Holy Spirit will flow through me. Whoooohooooooo! Power that looks like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control will flow from within me. That is some pretty heady stuff!
Like-minded with God. Scripture says that I have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). The Apostle James promises that if I lack wisdom, I can ask God for it and God will give it to me without finding fault with my lack of knowledge (James 1:5). That verse is so comforting to me. Oodles of people will look down on me for not knowing the answers to questions that they think are important, but God will never look down on me for any lack of knowledge or wisdom that I might have. God is the only one who knows everything, yet God finds no fault in me for only knowing what I know. God is happy to generously supply me with all the wisdom I need. I am so grateful for that!
Comments