Moment With The Master
“A Foolish Cross”
Categories: Moment With The MasterFor the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)
Here Paul compares human wisdom with the wisdom of God. It was by his wisdom that God chose to redeem man by an instrument of death- the cross. To those who accept the cross it is the power of God to salvation. To those who reject the cross, it is deemed foolish.
Among those who rejected the message of the cross were Jews. To them the cross was a tree of shame (Deuteronomy 1:23), and the one executed accursed of God! The Jew looked for a military deliverer, but not for a martyred Messiah. They looked for their king to deliver by the sword and not by death! Thus, the cross was a stumbling block to the Jews.
The Greeks were interested in primarily one thing- “can man find God by his own wisdom?” He was not interested in any revelation of God to man. They found no value in a crucified Jew. They looked for health, beauty, and power and had no sympathy for a martyr. They believed man could save himself by some new philosophy, but not by something as shallow as a cross.
Do we make the same mistake today? Do we water down this powerful instrument of salvation by our own schemes? Some attempt to draw the multitudes by a social gospel with the carnal enticements of coffee, donuts, and fun. Others trust in the method or in the messenger rather than the power of the message.
We must be a band of soldiers wholly dedicated to the cross fully trusting in its power. What else can give man an awareness of sin, inspire the humble to pursue a life of holiness, and motivate the unruly to live disciplined, consecrated lives? The answer: nothing but the cross of Jesus!
By George Slover
