Today's Devotional
September 26, 2008
Subject: An Intellectual Gospel
1 Corinthians 1:26-27 - "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called, but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty."
A coworker sent me an email detailing the educational backgrounds of the Presidential candidates and explaining that these are reasons to make a decision for or against one of the candidates. Of course the bible is replete with stories of the educational underdog or person from less privileged backgrounds conquering the king, queen or educated subjects, such as Paul himself was. Perhaps that's why Paul went on to talk about how God often subjugates our intellectual knowledge.
See we can use our brains and knowledge for a lot of things and we should, that's why God gave them to us, but we also must understand that the callings and decisions of God aren't just intellectual, but so much more than that. For example, if I go to the store to get a carton of milk, that's not necessarily spiritual in essence, until I see God move that is. And if I see God move, it becomes more than just a trip to the store for milk. It becomes an opportunity for me to be used for Christ. Does it mean that I stop and pray before I go get a carton of milk to be, "used by Christ?" No it means that I live each day with an understanding that I am His and that in everything I do, I want to do it in His calling.
The end of this thought is that you realize that for all of our intellect and knowledge, it only boils down to one thing; can we hear God and follow Him? That is not an intellectual pursuit, but instead a spiritual one and for those who continue in it, your diplomas or degrees mean nothing. I don't want the educated among you to feel like you've wasted time, but God simply has to convince some people that our intellect is nothing compared to His ways. That's why He says, "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise."
Today understand that while man may look for those with the most, whether it be education, wealth or status, God looks for those with the least so that He might make a point to those with the most. The gospel is spiritual and not intellectual.
Carlen
