(1 Corinthians 1:26-30) For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.
The passage above rushed into to my soul upon reading an article entitled “The Art of The Deal or The Obedience of Faith?”, written by Marvin Rosenthal in “Zion’s Fire” magazine. Below is a two paragraph quote for you to consider. Following the quote I will make a few comments.
“Concerning the things of this world, Peter wrote, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness” (2 Peter 3:10-11). One day God is simply going to speak the word, and all the things of this world are going to be dissolved; bigness, glitz, glamour, wealth and power won’t mean much in that day.
How important for the true Church to realize today that God is not looking for “superstar” pastors – He’s looking for faithful servants. God is not looking for popular Christian entertainers – He’s looking for faithful servants. God is not looking for Christian businessmen who can aid His cause – He’s looking for faithful servants. God is not looking for the famous athlete, the show business celebrity, the brilliant scholar, or the “reformed” politician – He’s looking for the faithful servant. (When will Christian leaders realize the harm of taking “famous” novices and using them to draw crowds to meetings?)”
For the redeemed of the Lord Jesus Christ this quote should cause great rejoicing or fervent conviction. When married with the passage of scripture above we, we can declare… God is looking for “Faithful Fools!!!
Praise God! I fit the bill fairly well, at least in the department of being ignoble, foolish, weak, despised, and not expected to do much. And why is He looking for faithful fools? Because when faithful fools obey Him, He is seen as all powerful, all faithful, all loving and the desire of every seeking heart; for then people are not drawn by our might or power or ingenuity or intellect or creativity, but by His Holy Spirit. God’s purpose, of course, is to reveal Jesus Christ as wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
This is what is missing from the Church in America, in addition to the power of God and faith in the power of God. This is why we rely so much on celebrity pastor’s and their written materials, and Christian entertainers, and Christian businessman and their paradigms of business, and Christian celebrities and politicians. We could also throw in our reliance on creative planning and programming. All of these things are foreign to the word of God. As well as in the early Church. The reason these things are absent from the early church is that they did not trust their own ability as a rule, as they epitomized the truth in the hymn “I need Thee Every Hour”.
What we see in the early days of the faith are foolish men like Paul, who left behind power, wealth and influence to become a homeless itinerant preacher who worked miracles. We encounter men like Luke, a physician, who in that time would have had potential for ridiculous wealth (in the practice of pagan medicine), yet left it behind to follow the Nazarene. We encounter men like the apostles, who in faith worked miracles and preached to thousands, who left all to follow Christ. They did these things for the grand reward of receiving the hatred of their nations leaders, as seen through painful persecutions. Yet these “Faithful Fools” did not whine, they lept for joy!
Next time we will look further into the power of or more accurately in the “Faithful Fool” in a piece entitled “Hi-Fi or Lo-Fi”. Until then let me ask you, are you willing to be a “Faithful Fool”? If so you will have the favor of God, the contempt of the world, and very often the misunderstanding of other “Christians” not willing to risk their image and privilege.
