The Power of God

“For 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

Somehow the message of the cross has been lost in Christendom. I hear a lot of talk about a lot of things but not so much about the cross. And I see that we are very excited about a lot of things but the cross, not so much. We look for the power of God in our spoken words, in our prayers, in miracles or experiences, in great preaching or in outreach efforts but not so much in the cross.

Its not my intelligence or education or my ability to argue or debate that's going to win anyone over to Christ. It's the message of the cross. It's not miracles or stunning prayers or great books (unless they are about the cross!) that get people saved. It's the message of the cross. This is foolishness to our “Greek” minds. It makes no scientific sense. It makes no logical sense. But it is the power of God. We need to carry around his death. That the infinite God, the Almighty, the Creator of the universe would limit himself and enter humanity, experiencing everything we experience so that he could bridge the gap between us that sin created b/c he loves us that much - that is the power of God. And so when my son speaks to his unsaved friends, if he carries the death of Jesus about with him then whatever he talks about to them, comes from that perspective. If the cross is all we carry. Whatever the issue of conversation may be he sees it through the glass of Christ crucified. So the underlying issue is always, "Why did Christ come?" "What did he accomplish on that cross?" This is the power of God! It's not whether or not I fully understand the second coming, or miracles or eternal security, or any other thing. These are wonderful subjects to search out in the scriptures to know Him better by(not to know the subject matter better!) and they are interesting, but the message of the cross is the power of God. It's not about being a gifted speaker, or a bible scholar, being good at debate or rhetorical speech although those things are fun and stimulating and entertaining. It's not about having all the answers. The power of God is not in those things. It's in the message of the cross. And so I tell my son, when you are with your unsaved friends carry the cross with you. Not on a necklace but in your soul. And pray that God will make their hearts able to receive it because it is foolishness to them. Paul said they have a veil over their minds. Pray that the veil be removed. And it is like the parable of the sower and the seed that Jesus told. I tell my son, pray for your friends because their hearts need to be prepared by God to receive this foolish message! If they have rocks or weed seeds in their hearts even if the word is received it will die. And certainly the ground needs to be broken up if they are hardened like a well worn path. But we can not do this – only the cross can.

“We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” 2 Cor. 4:10

We carry around the death of Christ and preach the foolish message of the cross and pray that He will lift the veil and work the soil of people's hearts. Then and only then do we have something to offer the world.