February 9 2014 Wise Love

February 2, 2014 Souper Bowl Sunday Micah 6.1-8, *I Corinthians 1.18-31, Wise Love

The church in Corinth was a struggling church. They struggled in their relationships, morally and emotionally. They struggled for independence from the Roman government. They struggled to be strong in a world that thought they were weak unless they focused on gaining lots of money, power, status, and stuff for themselves. They struggled to love their God with a wise love as opposed to a worldly love.

As Christians, we have seen that all that glitters is not gold. We know what it is to build our lives on the solid rock instead of a flimsy materialistic rock. We hunger and thirst, not for food alone but for every word that comes out of the mouth of God.

What we find valuable is considered weak and foolish by the world’s standards. Still Paul reminds the struggling Corinthian church in verse 25 that God at the minimum, God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. Even what is to us the silliest animal can have an important purpose. The strongest man in the world can lift 1100 pounds but God’s strength is even greater than that.

Some may say that Christianity is foolishness that appeals only to the weak. We know that being a Christian requires great strength. It takes great strength to say no when it is time to fast; to sing and pray when we’d rather play; to sacrifice when we’d rather be selfish. Was Mother Theresa weak and unwise when she picked the maggots off of the dying homeless people?

It takes great strength to be a Christian, to do the three things Jesus asked us to do, to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him. Who in the world wants to deny ourselves? Is it true that only the foolish would take up a cross that leads to Calvary?

Who in the world wants a cross? As foolish as it sounds, we do. We cherish that old rugged cross. We cling to it because we know what happens when we carry the cross. In spite of the pain, the sorrow, the fear, and the anguish of carrying our cross, there is peace that surpasses our understanding and our misunderstanding. There is joy that comes in the morning. There is divine strength that only comes from heaven, and there are marvelous moments when time and eternity synchronize situations and people at the seemingly impossible moment and at the right place, against the odds. We might call them miracles. We know what happens when we love God enough to deny ourselves, take up whatever cross is ours, and follow everywhere God leads us, for we are in fellowship with his sufferings as well as his resurrection. We know what happens.

The story is told of a prince who wanted to find a maiden suitable to be his queen. One day while running an errand in the local village for his father he passed through a poor section. As he glanced out the windows of the carriage his eyes fell upon a beautiful peasant maiden. Day after day, he saw her and soon fell in love and wanted to marry her, but how? He could command her to be his bride, but he knew that would not work. Even a prince wants his bride to marry him freely and voluntarily and not through coercion. He could put on his most splendid uniform and drive up to her front door in a carriage drawn by six horses. But if he did this he would never be certain that the maiden loved him or was simply overwhelmed with all of the splendor. As you might have guessed, the prince came up with another solution. He would give up his kingly robe. He moved, into the village, entering not with a crown but in the common clothes of a poor person. He lived among the people, shared their interests and concerns, and talked their language. In time the maiden grew to love him for who he was and because he had first loved her.

Just as the love of God has moved into our lives and loved us, when we fall in love with our creator, we move into the lives of God’s children with a love wiser than the world’s love. God’s love is wise, even when it seems foolish. Amen.