If you remember back to last week, Paul states that he preaches the gospel without eloquence or wisdom so as not to detract from the power of the cross. This week he expounds on the difference between worldly wisdom and the wisdom of the cross. Point blank, the wisdom of the world is impotent foolishness next to the power of the cross. Worldly thinking focuses on creative ways we can help ourselves out, how we can solve problems, how we can fix ourselves.
As a teenager, I had officially had it with the whole walking with a walker bit. So I decided I’d simply go to a field in some park and teach myself to walk… the hard way. I would stand in the center of the field and dramatically toss my walker away try to balance without it and even take a few steps. I fell hundreds of times, literally! I did this twice a week for months using any progress I made to fuel my iron determination to see this through. My knees, however, did not share my determination. It became painful to stand even with my walker and I realized all my effort had actually made my situation worse.
I think it’s safe to say that it was just plain foolishness on my part, but,
I was seeking betterment in my own power.
Isn’t that at the core of the world’s wisdom? And that is the very thing epically defeated by the awesome power of the Cross. We are made perfect, not just better, by the blood of God’s own son, having nothing to do with our own power so no one can boast.
Jonathan Duncan