Weakness and strength

But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. – 1 Corinthians 1.23-25

Those who oppose ‘religion’ seem to be in the ascendancy. More and more people are listing themselves as ‘no religion’ in polls and census forms. There are a lot of reasons for this. One of the the things I see or hear most often is that we don’t need God any more. ‘Religion’ is for weak and ignorant people or those cannot deal with life. Trusting God is a sign of weakness.

In Paul’s day people there were those who felt the same way. This new group must be weak because they were trusting a God who was so weak that He could be executed on a cross like a common criminal.

So the debate raged. What is weakness and what is strength? The debate continues today. Are we weak and foolish for preaching the cross? Does true strength come in trusting ourselves and the rest of humanity?

If we were only talking about the here and now and this present life you might be able to make a point. But there is more to it than just the here and now. After all, things aren't really so great in the here and now are they? Wars and violence and wickedness and hate seem to rule the world. Man tries all he can do to achieve peace, but it must be peace on his terms. We’ve never been able to do it. Is that really where I want to find my strength? Is the world really all that wise?

True strength comes in the ability to trust God and put faith in Him. Our faith can be tried by circumstances sometimes. It can be a severe trial sometimes we can be too weak to have the kind of faith we need.

We can trust however trust that God at His weakest is stronger than man at his strongest. He can do what man never can – if we have the wisdom and the strength to trust Him.