Apr 1 - 1 Corinthians 4:10

We are fools for

the sake of Christ …

1 Corinthians 4:10

First, some serious news: I’ve really enjoyed doing these days and weeks of writing, this is my last-ever daily devotion …

Just kidding.

April Fools!

Some people love this joking day. Some people hate it. But one thing we all have in common … whether on April 1 or on some other days of the years, we’ve all had our turn playing the fool!

Some people laugh at their foibles. Some turn several shades of red. Some want to crawl under a rock and die. Others bristle angrily – wanting so badly to seem in control, they fight against even small slights and perceived humiliations.

The truth is, however, that we are not in control. Indeed, any glimpses of power and perfection that we have is just an illusion. We’re a mess. And part of what Paul is saying today is, “Quit taking yourself so seriously!”

When calling us to become “fools for Christ,” Paul is encouraging us to willingly face anything -- even occasional humiliation in the eyes of the world -- in order to proclaim God’s truth and life. In fact, he’s warning us that sometimes the world views the Gospel as rather foolish. (And if our message sounds foolish, then sometimes the world might just view us as foolish too.)

Debating with a young and budding atheist recently, I comprehended the meaning of today’s verse in a new way. I’d state these powerful “proofs” of God’s existence, and he’d essentially laugh at me. By without allowing for even the possibility of a God, I suddenly realized that nothing I said was making any sense at all!

I kept wanting to cry, “If you allowed for even the possibility of a God, what I’m saying might make sense … might transform your life … But you’re so closed minded to even the possibility of a God that …”

That?

Well … suddenly, Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 1:18 made even more sense: “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

I wanted to cry when talking to this young man. Paul probably often wanted to cry too when proclaiming the Gospel to a hard-hearted world. But instead, he also laughed. He joyfully counted himself as a fool in a broken world. And this perspective gave him the courage to keep proclaiming, even when the world laughed at him (and worse, persecuted him).

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants to

love the world enough

that I am always

an adventurous fool