A Fool for Jesus
Did you here that George Brett is going to make a comeback in professional baseball? He is going to play for the Yankees!"
April Fools!!
Growing up my brother and I would always make up some story about George Brett being trading to the Yankees on April fools day. Each year we knew it was coming but we tried to be the first to get the other with this April fools joke. It is a good memory for me of April fools day.
Honestly, I am not that big a fan of practical jokes. I really don't like it when they are played on me. It was heart breaking every year as a young kid to hear that my baseball hero was traded to the team that I found hardest to root for.
This April fools got me to reading my Bible by searching the word "fool". You should do this it is amazing how many times it appears in the Bible. Solomon, who is known as one of the wisest men that every lived, talks about being a fool a lot. I came across a passage from Paul where he talks about being a fool for Jesus and I really has been speaking to me today.
"We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.
I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children. Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me."
1 Corinthians 4:10-16
Paul seems to be saying that what make the apostles fools for Jesus is that they are living differently than everyone else. They are acting differently, and reacting differently than others. Being a foll for Jesus is to over blessing to those who curse you. To be a fool for Jesus is to be kind when others are unkind. Being a fool for Jesus is to endure when other persecute you. Being a fool for Jesus is to love when other hate. Being a fool for Jesus is to work hard even when it is not rewarded. Being a fool for Jesus is to come along side, recognize and associate ourselves with those that are without offering love, grace, kindness, and blessing.
Are we willing to be fools for Jesus or are we just fooling ourselves about our relationship with him? Will will love in a way that seems like foolishness to the world? Will we offer grace in such a way that people around us will think it is foolishness? Will we endure the hardships and the persecution? Will we join with others who are experiencing hardship and persecution? Will we imitate Christ in the way that we love others and live our lives?
Be a fool for Jesus today!
Love today.
In Christ's love and mine,
Doug
April Fools!!
Growing up my brother and I would always make up some story about George Brett being trading to the Yankees on April fools day. Each year we knew it was coming but we tried to be the first to get the other with this April fools joke. It is a good memory for me of April fools day.
Honestly, I am not that big a fan of practical jokes. I really don't like it when they are played on me. It was heart breaking every year as a young kid to hear that my baseball hero was traded to the team that I found hardest to root for.
This April fools got me to reading my Bible by searching the word "fool". You should do this it is amazing how many times it appears in the Bible. Solomon, who is known as one of the wisest men that every lived, talks about being a fool a lot. I came across a passage from Paul where he talks about being a fool for Jesus and I really has been speaking to me today.
"We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.
I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children. Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me."
1 Corinthians 4:10-16
Paul seems to be saying that what make the apostles fools for Jesus is that they are living differently than everyone else. They are acting differently, and reacting differently than others. Being a foll for Jesus is to over blessing to those who curse you. To be a fool for Jesus is to be kind when others are unkind. Being a fool for Jesus is to endure when other persecute you. Being a fool for Jesus is to love when other hate. Being a fool for Jesus is to work hard even when it is not rewarded. Being a fool for Jesus is to come along side, recognize and associate ourselves with those that are without offering love, grace, kindness, and blessing.
Are we willing to be fools for Jesus or are we just fooling ourselves about our relationship with him? Will will love in a way that seems like foolishness to the world? Will we offer grace in such a way that people around us will think it is foolishness? Will we endure the hardships and the persecution? Will we join with others who are experiencing hardship and persecution? Will we imitate Christ in the way that we love others and live our lives?
Be a fool for Jesus today!
Love today.
In Christ's love and mine,
Doug
Comments