TAKEAWAY: God’s plan to save all of us through Christ is good news compared to our problem-solving

27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 1 Corinthians 1:27

MESSAGE:

Dark Souls 3 is a brutal RPG that makes every enemy encounter a calculated workout. Your warrior must face off against demons with limited power, strength, and speed. Every slain foe feels like a huge win (at least to me anyway). But, if you really want to torture yourself, you can choose a warrior class that is deprived: handicapped, without armor, and weaponless. One might claim that this is a very dumb way to play a very difficult game, but the internet has tons of videos of people doing it.

1st Corinthians chapter one has the audacity to claim that even when God is doing something “dumb,” it’s actually a hundred times smarter than anything His creation can do. It’s a harsh burn, but it’s actually a strategic message that should give us hope.

Human invention and philosophy are notorious for forgetting the poor, unworthy, and underqualified. In fact, humanity says the smartest thing we can do is to skip over the weak and powerless to get our goals accomplished. You don’t want a poverty-stricken man managing your finances. You don’t want a sick woman advising your health. It just makes sense to skip over the world’s unqualified people.

But that is where we need God’s “dumb” idea as our hope. To God, we are all poverty-stricken, weak, and unworthy. It would be to his advantage to build relationships with people like him rather than allow us in. God, instead, uses his divine power and all-encompassing riches not only to foster a relationship with us but also to establish his church government. The weak become the strong through his genius.

Paul asserts, in his letter, that Jesus’ work (his death on the cross) is the smartest thing for people to get behind. It doesn’t weed out the weak among the strong, but it takes all the weaklings and gives them a rewarding life with God.

FIGURE IT OUT:

For seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom didn’t know God, it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe. 22 For Jews ask for signs, Greeks seek after wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified; a stumbling block to Jews, and foolishness to Greeks, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

1st Corinthians 1:21-25

  1. Circle some keywords or phrases that are significant to you.
  2. What sort of advantages does the world miss out on using it’s own wisdom?
  3. Why does Paul claim that Christ crucified is the power and wisdom of God?
  4. What does it mean for our relationship that God uses his own plans, resources, and accomplishments to win us over?

Blessing: May God’s “dumb” plans give you more than you need to thrive with him.

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