Thoughts for another day

April 23, 2007

Today's verse: 1 Cor. 1:21. For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

I want to take you today inside the mind of the girl, Ugur Yuksel, 32, was to marry. Yuksel was murdered last Wednesday in Malatya, Turkey. He was a convert from islam, involved in distributing biblical tracts published by Zirve Publishing. He was murdered for spreading Christianity along with two others. Even more shocking was that all three of them were fiercely tortured for three hours before their murder. Read url: http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20070420-064724-9427r.

What would be going on in this girl’s mind? A few days ago, she must have planned to spend a lifetime of enjoying his companionship and building a family. Then it all ended and she must have probably fainted on seeing his badly tortured body. I am sure if she isn’t a firm believer, she must have thought what a foolish man he was. Couldn’t he mind his own business and not bother with other people? What might she be thinking at this very moment? Would you like to imagine it?

Sometimes in aligning ourselves to God’s mission, we face censure from the world… from both, our families and the enemies of Christ. Our families, because they don’t want to see us suffering. The enemies of Christ because, they want to silence us. But it is the censure from the family that’s more restraining and painful in that, while we are charged to spread the Good News, it is these who dissuade us; not reflecting for even a moment on the fact that no evil can touch us unless allowed by God and our lives being precious to God cannot be extinguished till God signals the end.

For many, proclaiming the Good News in the face of trouble, is foolishness. Take a good look at today’s verse. Our own wisdom was insufficient in God’s wisdom to give us salvation or for that matter to know God. But it is only by the foolishness of proclamation that we can be saved, when we believe. The Word of God cuts through our desensitized minds by saying the exact opposite of what we come to hold by the wisdom of the world. It says, when we are weak, then, we are strong; in silence we learn for when we shut up, then we are filled with strength, in both mind and body …and so on. My friend, consider God’s ways in assimilating His wisdom in your mind. Think not that He isn’t aware of things that happen to us. Remember that when adverse things are happening, God is busy working out the salvation of the world through us. What a wonderful office to hold.