On beaches around the globe, you can find people sporting shorts, flip-flops, and headphones as they comb the seashore with metal detectors. While many sun-lovers return from a day at the beach with a tan and a few seashells, these modern-day treasure hunters often bring back something more valuable—gold, mostly in the form of lost jewelry.
At first glance, these folks may look a bit silly, even foolish. But when you see them through the lens of soaring gold prices, they don’t seem so foolish after all.
People who follow a crucified Jesus as Lord may appear odd and foolish to outsiders. To many people in Jesus’ day, those who followed Christ seemed absurd. Back then, being put to death on a Roman cross was reserved only for the worst of criminals. And it meant Rome won again, while everyone else lost.
No one in his right mind would believe that anything good could come from the crucifixion of his leader. But that’s precisely what the early Christians boldly proclaimed. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth: “The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
The apostle looked at the cross of Jesus differently because he saw it through the lens of the resurrection (Romans 6:8-10). He, along with others, recognized that something new and wildly powerful happened when the Savior died and arose from the dead. It was the dawn of God’s new creation that Jesus will one day bring to completion. Until then, God calls us to live as new creation people—joining Him in the process of making His renewed creation flourish in our corner of the world. That’s not foolish at all!
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: 1 Kings 18:16-46
More:
Read Galatians 2:20 to see how believers in Jesus are identified with Him in His death.
Next:
How are you being transformed by and seeking to advance God’s work of new creation in the world? How does the foolishness of the cross actually reveal great wisdom?
Gary Shultz on April 19, 2015 at 6:33 am
I like the words you use “new” and “wild” because most of what Christ did and proposed was just that. Although predicted, even the people closest to Him did not grasp the big picture. Even with the historic accounts I can still not fully understand what all happened, but I do know a few things. As Jesus died for our sin, it was accepted, the curtain was torn and the Holy Spirit would come to work in us this costly, loving gift Jesus established. This new, wild, bold, holy , personal relationship waits for us each day to stand in His presence and join His work. Thank you. Oh, and by the way, if you see me on a beach, I’d rather work for fish than gold.
Mike Wittmer on April 19, 2015 at 3:14 pm
Your post pried loose this thought. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then we are foolish. If he did, then the people who don’t follow him are. One set of us is throwing our lives away. It depends on whether the tomb is empty. Thank God that it is!
Winn Collier on April 27, 2015 at 12:18 pm
At the beach a few weeks ago, we watched one of these treasure hunters walking up and down the beach, only he carried his metal detector on his shoulder instead of putting it down on the ground. I was so curious…