Change The Conversation

“Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’” (I Corinthians 1:26-31)  A number of years ago, Mac Davis famously sang: Oh Lord it’s hard to be humble When you’re perfect in every way.  I can’t wait To look in the mirror. Cause I get better looking each day.  To know me is to love me. I must be a hell of a man. Oh Lord It’s hard to be humble, But I’m doing the best that I can.”  We smile at the exaggeration but perhaps also a little bit at the recognition of ourselves.  The Apostle Paul probably did have a good deal about which he could boast.  He was a master rhetorician and highly educated.  He had an unprecedented level of influence in the early church.  And apparently he could sew a pretty good tent!  But he had also come to understand something: none of our abilities, no amount of wealth or power can gain us what we need the most – salvation.  That has been accomplished for us while we were looking the other way.  And so if we really want to talk about something important, we need to move the conversation away from ourselves towards a rather humble Galilean who it turns out is also the Lord of the universe.