The People God Calls
Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 1 Corinthians 1:26-27
You don’t have to read much of the Bible to find that the people God called were flawed, weak, and foolish. He chose old people, prostitutes, tax collectors, and many others we may wonder about.
In fact, who could seem more foolish than a crucified Jesus Christ? “The Christ” was supposed to be a powerful king who would save his people from their oppressors. But Jesus would not let the people make him their king. And he allowed himself to be crucified on a cross, an instrument of death reserved for the lowest of criminals.
Paul described the cross as “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and [Gentiles], Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24).
God chose the foolish and weak so we would know that whatever he enabled them to accomplish was his doing through them. We can’t boast in our strength or our wisdom—they fail when we need them the most. Human wisdom and strength doesn’t bring us to salvation.
Through one prophet God said, “’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
When we find ourselves doing foolish things or saying, “I am weak,” we need to remember that we don’t have to be perfect. When God called us, he placed us in Christ Jesus, “who has become for us wisdom from God–that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30).
Look around you. Do you see God’s people as he sees them? As he sees you?
DIG DEEPER
In 1 Corinthians 1:18-22, what else does Paul say to the wealthy, learned Corinthian Christians who were beginning to think highly of themselves because of God’s work in them? See also Isaiah 29:14, the verse to which Paul is referring.
Who are the people you are tempted to admire for their intelligence, wealth, or power? What abilities or acquisitions can you boast about according to Jeremiah 9:23-24?
God’s not asking us to avoid education and learning. He’s bringing us all to one common level. God did call magi, who were learned astronomers. He called Paul, who was highly educated. What did Paul write about learning in 2 Timothy 2:15?
Nancy J. Baker
This devotion is part of a series on the But God events of the Bible.