For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ~1 Corinthians 1:21
Everyone reading this devotional and has been to Sunday morning worship in a Christian church has asked this question or something similar to it, “How much longer will this preacher preach before we can go home?” Each and every Sunday within the house of God there is treasure of speech, rhetoric, and exhaustive exegetical scrimmage that is intended to do one thing: To express our human necessity for God through Jesus Christ and making the decision to choose him as our personal Savior if we have not already done so. I know that it appears to be amusing and satirical when the pastor or preacher uses every oratorical convention within speech to convey this message. He or she may hum, grunt, use call and response, take allegory tapered with analogy, and even use the elements of our everyday existence to properly point the way to the rock of our salvation.
The apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians makes it clear that the “wisdom” of this world cannot hold a finger to the “foolishness” of God. When used in these terms it is easy to beg the question, “Does God create foolishness?” We who live in the Kingdom of God know that God cannot create anything that is foolish; however, the power and majesty of God will often appear to be foolish because it surpasses our so-called “conventional wisdom”. This is the very point that Paul is expressing. In Isaiah 55:8 God says through the prophet, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts and neither your ways are my ways.” God allowed the preached Word of God, that which he knew the world would describe and label as foolish, to save those who wished to believe in faith.
There have been many through the years that have wondered why the preached Word of God is able to stir up the souls of men in order that they may be converted from spiritual darkness to the light of Jesus Christ. In my opinion, I believe it shows the pure genius of our Almighty God. God has allowed the various modes of sermonic expression across culture and demographic to speak his Gospel in the forms that we as his children would respond to. As a preacher and pastor, I am always seeking God’s voice and instruction to tell me what to say from his Holy writ and how to say it so that it has the greatest impact for the soul that is in deliberation on whether or not they will make the choice of Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
The preaching of the Gospel may appear to be foolish to the world, but it contains more wisdom than we could ever imagine. You see, God’s foolishness is pure wisdom!
Peace and blessings.
~ Rev. E. Shon Hagwood, M.Div.
